The Understudy
- Introduction
- Book Exerpt
- Reviews
For Josh Harper, being in show business means money, fame, a beautiful wife and a lead role on the London stage. For Stephen C McQueen it means a disastrous career playing passers-by and dead people.
Stephen’s stuck with an unfortunate name, a hopeless agent, a daughter he barely knows and a job as an understudy to Josh Harper, officially the 12th sexiest man in the world. And when Stephen falls in love with Josh’s clever, funny wife Nora, things get even more difficult.
But might there yet be a way for Stephen to get his big break….
'A zippy comedy with laugh-out-loud lines, grounded on a solid plot and first-rate dialogue...irresistible' (Daily Mail)
'Bitterly funny' (Observer)
'Darkly funny and oddly romantic.' (More 20050325)
'An unusual mix of cynicism and romance - no slush, just lots of laughs!' (Company)
'A brilliantly funny book.' (Marie Claire)
'Hugely entertaining with a high ratio of chuckles and snorts per chapter.' (Good Book Guide)
'I adored THE UNDERSTUDY. It's a fantastic comedy ... delightfully written.' (New Woman)
'A funky, less-fluffy-than-funny rom com.' (Metro)
'Deeply funny, with brilliant dialogue.' (Good Housekeeping)
'Sweet and funny.' (Eve)
Book of the Month (Red)
'Highly enjoyable ... both knowing and charming.' (Mirror Ticket)
'Both hilarious and heartbreaking.' (Hannah Stephenson, various regional papers inc)
'I laughed a lot' (Jeremy Paxman on STARTER FOR TEN )
'Romantic comedy with a charming British accent....plenty of material for screwball hilarity... His prose is laugh-out-loud funny... This jaunty, big-hearted novel is chick lit with a Y-chromosome.'(Kirk US Reviews )
'Brilliantly written and very funny' (Closer, 4 stars )
'Sharply funny...wonderfully chaotic' (The Times )
'The set pieces of social embarrassment are neatly threaded together, and there are some well-crafted tender moments too... It could hold its own against a Richard Curtis script' (Independent on Sunday )
'An entertaining follow-up to Nicholls' brilliant debut' (Heat, top ten books for March )
