The Overnight Socialite: A Novel [Hardcover]

Bridie Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 2009

Lucy Ellis moved to the Big Apple to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a fashion designer, but the native Midwesterner has just about had it with the city. A mousy, self-conscious girl trapped in a job at a designer sweatshop, Lucy has been mistreated, road-blocked, and otherwise insulted since her arrival. Overwhelmed by city life, Lucy is about to pack it all in and return home to Minnesota. Then she meets Wyatt.

After being publicly dissed by the glamour girl he’d been dating, man-about-town (and bored Ph.D. anthropologist) Wyatt Hayes wants to prove he’s still at the top of his game and boasts to his best friend that he can transform any girl—even wallflower Lucy Ellis—into this year’s “It” girl. If he can fool the upper crust of New York society into thinking an impostor like Lucy is the real thing, he can rip the chiffon veil off the whole Park Avenue social scene.

Lucy’s an unlikely candidate to become a red-carpet butterfly, but she considers it her last resort and jumps at the opportunity to “become somebody” in New York. Wyatt begins to rigorously train Lucy in the style, sounds, and sensibilities of socialites born with entire sets of silver spoons in their mouths. Three months of preparation culminate in Lucy’s appearance at the ultra-exclusive Fashion Forum Gala, where Lucy and Wyatt finally confront New York’s aristocracy—and their feelings for each other.

Set against the glittering backdrop of contemporary Manhattan, The Overnight Socialite puts a 21st-century sheen on a timeless story of transformation and unlikely love.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Clark (Because She Can) moves the Pygmalion myth to Manhattan, adds a dash of Thelma and Louise and proves what goes around, comes around to those born to the manor or trailer park. Professor Higgins is recast as suave bachelor Wyatt Hayes IV, the sleekest lion in the pride, who picks down-on-her-luck fashion designer wannabe Lucy Jo Ellis to make over into the toast of the town. The deal is eventually struck—makeover and a shot at well-born fashion contacts for a gentleman's bet that masks a lucrative and career-saving book deal. Along the way, these perfectly matched antagonists battle mean-as-a-snake society snoots and their own misguided ambitions to find happiness and each other. (And, it should be said, the Rain in Spain remix is pretty great: The snow in Gstaad puts Aspen's to shame! the newly svelte and prepped Lucy proclaims.) Yes, of course the ending's no surprise, but the rollicking, smart-aleck fun along the way is worth the price of admission. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

Lucy Jo Ellis, from a small town in Minnesota, moved to New York with the dream of becoming a famous designer, but so far, working in a dress shop cutting out patterns, she hasn’t gotten very far. Wyatt Hayes is a Harvard-educated anthropologist from money, very old money, who just dumped his socialite girlfriend. Suddenly inspired while waiting for a taxi, he bets his friend that he can turn a girl, any girl, into a bona fide New York socialite, no matter how corn-fed she is. Lucy needs a job, so she agrees to the experiment. In a whirlwind of personal trainers, designer gowns, spa retreats, and elocution lessons, Lucy is transformed, and now she must decide which of the Lucys is really her, and if Wyatt is simply a scientist or if there is more to his story. Clark offers a charming twenty-first-century update of Pygmalion and My Fair Lady. --Hilary Hatton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Weinstein Books; 1 edition (December 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602860823
• ISBN-13: 978-1602860827
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #587,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming story, February 27, 2010

By 

Ellz Readz "Ellz Readz" (Eastern US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Overnight Socialite: A Novel (Hardcover)

My thoughts...When this story first began, I found myself overwhelmed with the name dropping. All the fancy designers, labels, $500 shoes made me sort of dizzy and a bit turned off. However, once the story started to take off and the plot took over the glitz blended nicely into the scenery. The plot was a unique twist on an old story infused with romance, heartbreak, and a whole lotta money. The Overnight Socialite gave readers a pretty good look into the elite social setting in New York City. Readers get several different POV's because story not only followed Lucy and Wyatt, the main characters, but also several of their friends and acquaintances. The ending wrapped up, but it felt a little abrupt. You could definitely make strong inferences about the character's lives, but I longed for more details.

As far as the characters go, they grew on me. Initially, I could not imagine someone taking Wyatt up on his offer to be a social experiment, but after considering Lucy Jo's dreams and the extent of her devastation, it seemed plausible. I mean what did she have to loose? Her character really changed as the story progressed, but not as much as Wyatt's. I enjoyed reading his scenes. His stubbornness, his denial, and his pride made him an interesting character. My favorite character by far was Eloise, Lucy's friend. Of all the characters in the book, she was the most real and down-to-Earth, (with the exception of Lucy's mother). Overall, most of the characters were interesting and memorable

The cons...The only issue I had while reading came from too many POV's. There were several characters in the story who's point of view really contributed to the story. For example, the thoughts of Cornellia, the villianess, really helped the story move along and helped drive the reader's emotions. There were several subplots using various characters that I just skimmed through or skipped all together. These sections felt like filler and took away from the main story line too much, in my opinion.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and was rather sad when the story ended. I would recommend it to fans of chick-lit.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The ending is a letdown, December 12, 2009

By 

K. Huff (Radnor, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Overnight Socialite: A Novel (Hardcover)

Lucy Jo Ellis is an aspiring designer who moves to New York to work in the sweatshops of the Fashion District in order to get her foot in the door. After the city nearly chews her up and spits her out, Lucy meets Wyatt Hayes IV, who has a bet going with his best friend that he can turn the average girl on the street into one of New York's most sought-after socialites.

OK, so the author borrows directly from My Fair Lady for the plot of her book. But it's really an enjoyable story. So there definitely is some predictability here. But Lucy Jo is a character with a lot of heart, and passion for what she loves best. Nearly all of these characters are a lot more three-dimensional than those in Clark previous novel, Because She Can. There are characters in the book, especially Wyatt and his best friend, who are undeniably flawed, but that makes them all the more real. Wyatt's ex girlfriend is a bit of a caricature, but other than that, I enjoyed reading about these people.

Nonetheless, there are a few aspects of the story that had me raising my eyebrows in disbelief (Lucy's transformation, especially her weight loss, is a little too rapid to be believable). Wyatt is in his mid-thirties, but he sure doesn't act that way most of the time. And the ending of the book isn't really an ending, as such. It just stops, without truly wrapping things up. But other than that, the story is fast paced, and extremely lively. It's cute, it's fun, and it's an engaging way to pass time. The plot just needs a little more work.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Light Summer Read While You Sip Your Mai Tai, May 26, 2010

By 

Julia A. Andrews (Peoria, Illinois) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Overnight Socialite: A Novel (Hardcover)

Besides looking cute in your sunglasses while sipping your Mai Tai as you relax in your lounger at poolside this summer, pick up this funny, Chick Lit light easy read. If you have read the other reviews you know the storyline. "My Fair Lady" meets modern day. It is a bit like a Doris Day movie, darling, flirty, predictable and you would not have it any other way.

Enjoy the Summer! Enjoy the read!