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Overview
From the bestselling author of Azur Like it and Farm Fatale comes a domestic comedy set in the world of coupledom and new parenthood
Bath, England—the swanky town once home to ancient Roman spas and Jane Austen heroines—is the setting for this brilliant new novel. Birthing class brings together two sets of expectant parents, who couldn't be more different. Hugo and his spoiled wife Amanda plan to throw money at the problems of parenthood, making use of private hospitals and nurses, while environmentally friendly Jake and Alice have arranged a home-delivery complete with birthing pool and whale music.
When Amanda decides she's not cut out for motherhood and Hugo must look elsewhere for a sympathetic ear, the couples are inextricably drawn together once again, resulting in hilarious social comedy, as only Wendy Holden can write it.
“Fans of her writing know that Holden's skill, wit, and aplomb make her stand out in the oft-sugary genre.”
—Gotham
“Holden is very good indeed.”
—The Baltimore Sun
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of Azur Like it and Farm Fatale comes a domestic comedy set in the world of coupledom and new parenthood
Bath, England—the swanky town once home to ancient Roman spas and Jane Austen heroines—is the setting for this brilliant new novel. Birthing class brings together two sets of expectant parents, who couldn't be more different. Hugo and his spoiled wife Amanda plan to throw money at the problems of parenthood, making use of private hospitals and nurses, while environmentally friendly Jake and Alice have arranged a home-delivery complete with birthing pool and whale music.
When Amanda decides she's not cut out for motherhood and Hugo must look elsewhere for a sympathetic ear, the couples are inextricably drawn together once again, resulting in hilarious social comedy, as only Wendy Holden can write it.
"Fans of her writing know that Holden's skill, wit, and aplomb make her stand out in the oft-sugary genre."
—Gotham
"Holden is very good indeed."
—The Baltimore Sun
Publishers Weekly
Holden affectionately skewers marriage and parenthood in her latest charming farce (after Azur Like It) about two expectant couples who, having fled bustling cities for a slower pace of life, find themselves in the same prenatal class in the small city of Bath, England. Alice, a lawyer, got pregnant after a "one-teatime stand" and impulsively married environmentally conscious Jake, who soon becomes an eco-fascist under the pressures of fatherhood-refusing to bathe, giving away Alice's belongings and insisting they only feed their child stewed organic vegetables. Notorious celebrity journalist Amanda loses her job and decides that a baby will be her latest trendy accessory. But then she lands a new position and her hunky husband, Hugo, a real estate agent, finds himself plunged into fatherhood, left as sole caregiver for a squirming, baffling baby. He turns to down-to-earth Alice for help, and soon the two develop something more than friendship. With crisp, witty dialogue and none of the clunky exposition that hobbles so much chick lit, Holden's book soars above other volumes in the genre and grips the reader with an escalating succession of humorous, diaper-laden escapades. Agent, Deborah Schneider. (May) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.