Lauren Lipton’s debut novel, It’s About Your Husband, was called “smart, sassy and impossible to put down” and a story that would “…resonate with readers everywhere” by New York Times bestselling authors Meg Cabot and Emily Giffin, respectively. Now, Lipton returns with MATING RITUALS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WASP (5 Spot/Grand Central Publishing; $13.99; May 29, 2009), a story of two seemingly mismatched strangers who fall in love and get married…but not exactly in that order.
Peggy Adams is comfortable in her New York life, until she makes an unusual agreement with Luke Sedgwick, the last scion of an old New England family. The deal: Stay married for a year, and the two will inherit the Sedgwick mansion in New Nineveh, a quaint, preppy enclave in Litchfield County, Connecticut.
But entering Luke’s world isn’t easy. Peggy must quickly learn how to pass herself off as a proper Connecticut wife and a perfect WASP. (Hint: At parties, nobody actually eats the food.) To make matters worse, she finds herself falling in love with the man she’s married to—despite that he seems to have no feelings for her.
As its title suggests, MATING RITUALS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WASP explores an exclusive, insulated world in a hilariously clever and heartwarming way. In preparing to write, Lipton, a journalist, penned articles for the New York Times Sunday Styles section about the socialite party circuit and garnered inside information from influential preppy bloggers and websites. From New England and the Hamptons to Palm Beach and Palo Alto, Lipton explores WASP culture in a spot-on, aptly examined way.
Lauren Lipton is a freelance reporter who specializes in lifestyle, business, and trend stories. She is currently the fashion, beauty and lifestyle editor at ForbesWoman magazine. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, InStyle Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, Glamour, Marie Claire, and elsewhere. She has degrees from Occidental College and the University of Southern California. Lauren and her family divide their time between New York City and Litchfield County.
Visit Lauren Lipton’s website http://www.laurenlipton.com. Visit Grand Central Publishing on the Internet http://www.hachettebookgroup.com
Read views of Mating Rituals of the North American Wasp
Vogue.com: http://www.style.com/vogue/voguedaily/2009/06/summers-best-beach-reads/
RealSimple.com: http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/entertainment/arts-culture/entertainment-picks-00000000015636/page3.html
NYT profile: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/nyregion/connecticut/03colct.html?_r=1
Hartford Courant review: http://www.courant.com/features/booksmags/hc-mating0524.artmay24,0,7758855.story
This event sponsored by the Auxiliary Board of the Rye Free Reading Room.
