Vikram Seth's 'A suitable Girl' set for 2016 launch

Author Vikram Seth's new novel "A Suitable Girl", a much awaited sequel to his 1993 critically acclaimed fiction "A Suitable Boy" is set to hit bookstands in 2016, according to new publishers Aleph Book Company.

"'A Suitable Boy', which was published in 1993, and has since sold over a million copies around the world in twenty languages, will be published in the Indian subcontinent by Aleph Book Company, a company promoted  by Rupa Publications India," said a statement released today.

Weidenfeld and Nicolson, an imprint of British publisher Orion, has secured the worldwide publishing rights.

The new release is set for autumn/winter 2016 and publishers are also bringing out the 20th anniversary edition of "A Suitable Boy", considered one of the longest novels ever published in a single volume in the English language.

"I am delighted to be working with David Davidar and Kapish Mehra. My publishing relationship with David goes back twenty-five years, and I have more respect and affection for him than for any other editor," Seth said.

A "Suitable Boy" was set in 1950s India and followed the lives and fortunes of four families, with its focus on the efforts of Lata Mehra's mother to  find her "a suitable boy" to marry. The sequel is set to revolve around the stories of Lata's grandchildren and the events of the present day.

David Davidar said he was "beyond thrilled by the prospect of publishing what will be, without a doubt, the publishing event of the decade."

"Publishing 'A Suitable Boy' the first time around was one of the defining moments of my publishing career, and my  first major success as a publisher. To be able to do so once more is quite extraordinary; in a way it seems to me that the novel is coming home," Davidar said.

Seth's sequel had previously been set to be brought out by publisher Hamish Hamilton for a reported USD 1.7-million advance which was later cancelled.

"A Suitable Boy" was set in 1950s India, and followed the lives and fortunes of four families, with its focus on the efforts of Lata Mehra's mother to find her a "suitable boy" to marry. The sequel is set around stories of Lata's grandchildren and the events of the present day.

"At its core 'A Suitable Boy' is a love story but at the same time, it is the story of India, newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis as a sixth of the world's population faces its first great general election and the chance to map its own destiny," said the publishers.

Seth was born in Kolkata and educated there and later went to England, California and China. He has written acclaimed books in several genres: many books of poetry; a verse novel, e Golden Gate; a travel book, "From Heaven Lake"; animal fables, "Beastly Tales" an epic novel, "A Suitable Boy" and a memoir, "Two Lives".

His most recent novel, "An Equal Music", was published in 1999.