Amor Towles’ surprise bestseller, Rules of Civility (Viking), has sold some 500,000 copies since its 2011 publication. But fans were left wondering what happened to one of its most compelling characters, the glamorous and secretive Evelyn Ross, who got on a train to Chicago—and never disembarked.
Digital-only sequels and epilogues are common in genre communities, but rare for literary authors. But nevertheless, Towles is publishing a digital-only book imagining the further adventures of Eve in Hollywood, her ultimate destination:
In this chain of six richly detailed and atmospheric stories, each told from a different perspective, Towles unfolds the events that take Eve to the heart of Old Hollywood. Beginning in the dining car of the Golden State Limited in September 1938, we follow Eve to the elegant rooms of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the fabled tables of Antonio’s, the amusement parks on the Santa Monica piers, the afro-Cuban dance clubs of Central Avenue, and ultimately the set of Gone with The Wind. In following the thread of these varied encounters, we watch as Eve forges a new and unexpected life for herself in late 1930s Los Angeles.
The book will be available from Penguin on June 25, wherever digital books are sold, for just $2.99. Will you read it? Which literary novel do you most wish an author would continue?
As for what’s next for Towles, he is working on another full-length novel, which he tells us ”is set in a different time and a different place.” We’ll be sure to report back with more details when they’re available.
My fellow children of the 80s, here’s your dose of nostalgia for the day. Papercutz has smurfed up an archival anthology of all of the comic adventures of your favorite little blue peeps.
