The long-awaited sequel "A Suitable Girl"

Vikram Seth writing the long-awaited sequel "A Suitable Girl" to his much-loved " A Suitable Boy".

In a move which will cheer hundreds of thousands of his fans,Vikram Seth, among the most widely admired writers in the world today, has announced that he is writing the long-awaited sequel to his much-loved million-copy bestseller A Suitable Boy. A Suitable Girl will be published by Penguin in Autumn 2013.

A Suitable Boy was set against the backdrop of newly-independent India and followed the lives of four families across several cities, as the central character Lata's mother searched for a suitable groom for her. In A Suitable Girl, Vikram Seth will bring the narrative up to the present day, encompassing some of the enormous social and economic changes India has undergone in the last sixty years. Lata, the sparky and rebellious heroine of A Suitable Boy, is now a grandmother, and her grandson is the one in search of a good match.

Penguin's prestigious Hamish Hamilton imprint (to be launched in India this July) has bought world English language rights (excluding the USA) from Vikram Seth's agent, David Godwin.

2013 marks the twentieth anniversary of the publication of A Suitable Boy, which was a worldwide sensation. The 1,350 page book sold over a quarter of a million copies in hardback and over a million copies in paperback. In 2013, Penguin will put the book into its distinguished Modern Classics list.