Bridget Jones is set to make a return, as Helen Fielding prepares to publish a second sequel to her fictional Bridget Jones’ Diary, published in 1996.

The original book became a global sensation in its own right, as the world fell in love with Fielding’s fictional character, Bridget Jones. That popularity then grew when the novel was adapted for a Hollywood movie, with Renee Zellweger as the central character.

17 years after that first novel was published, the news comes that Fielding plans to resurrect Bridget’s story. The publisher Jonathan Cape has acquired the publishing rights to the book, which is expected to hit bookstores in Autumn 2013, according to The Telegraph. Dan Franklin, a spokesperson for Jonathan Cape, said “Great comic writers are as rare as hen’s teeth. Helen is one of a very select band who have created a character, Bridget, of whom the very thought makes you smile. Like millions of others, I can’t wait to see what’s happened to her.”

Fans of the first two novels will undoubtedly be excited by this news and Fielding will assuredly have another bestseller on her hands. The first two installments of the hapless singleton’s tale have sold over 15 million copies worldwide and have been published in over 40 countries. 

The awkward Bridget Jones in all her glory...