Funny Girl - the latest novel from Nick Hornby, the million-copy bestselling aut hor of About a Boy Make them laugh, and they're yours forever . . . Barbara Parker is Miss Blackpool of 1964, but she doesn't want to be a beauty queen. Sh e only wants to make people laugh. So she leaves her hometown behind, takes hers elf off to London, and lands a life-changing audition for a new BBC comedy serie s. Overnight she becomes Sophie Straw: charming, gorgeous, destined to win the n ation's hearts. Funny Girl is the story of a smash-hit TV show and the people b ehind the scenes: the writers, Tony and Bill, friends since national service and comedy obsessives; producer Dennis, Oxbridge educated, clever, mild and not-so- secretly devoted to his star actress Sophie; and dashing male lead Clive, who fi rmly believes he's destined for better things. The show's success continues rock eting and the cast and crew are having the time of their lives. But when the scr ipt begins to get a bit too close to home, and life starts imitating art, they a ll face a choice. How long can they keep going before it's time to change the ch annel? Nick Hornby's novel is about popular culture and the swinging sixties. S ophie Straw is learning about youth and old age, fame and hard work, class and c ollaboration. Funny Girl offers a captivating portrait of youthful exuberance an d freedom at a time when Britain itself was experiencing one of its most endurin g creative bursts. Hornby fans will love his latest book, as will readers of Dav id Nicholls, Mark Haddon and William Boyd. 'Fans won't be disappointed by this new story... endearing, humorous and touching, full of spot-on period detail, al l brought to vivid life by a cast of very human characters. Hugely enjoyable' Su nday Mirror 'Resolutely, winningly light-hearted' Observer 'Nick Hornby' s funny, winningly perceptive novel is a pleasure to read' Telegraph 'If y ou devoured About a Boy and whizzed through High Fidelity you're going to love N ick Hornby's brilliant new novel. Hilarious and captivating, this is a fabulous read' Take a Break 'There is something about Hornby's writing that is so s imple, so easy-to-read and yet so sensitive and profound at the same time, that anything he writes turns out very special. The premise of Funny Girl is like a l ot of Nick Hornby's irritatingly genius ideas: something so obvious you can't be lieve no one thought of it before.' Independent 'Everything he writes is a ddictively readable and clever, but with this one he just surpasses himself' Red 'Effortlessly engaging... Hornby's writing is so fluid, he has a great knack for capturing atmosphere and skewering a character with a killer phrase' - Eveni ng Standard