Careful readers of The Bulgari Connection, the forthcoming novel by best-selling British writer Fay Weldon, may notice a curiously high number of passages about jewelry, albeit really nice Italian jewelry.
That's because Bulgari, the Italian jewelry company, paid Weldon an undisclosed sum of money for a prominent place in her book. Not only does the company's name appear in the book's title, but its expensive accessories factor into the novel's plot.
Weldon told the New York Times that she initially balked at the idea of accepting the commission. "When the approach came through, I thought, 'Oh no, dear me, I am a literary author. You can't do this kind of thing; my name will be mud forever.' But then after a while I thought, 'I don't care. Let it be mud. They never give me the Booker Prize anyway,'" she said, referring to Britain's most prestigious literary award.
Atlantic Monthly Press will publish The Bulgari Connection in November.
