On the last night of 1937,twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey,a handsome banker,happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society-where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.With its sparkling depiction of New York's social strata,its intricate imagery and themes,and its immensely appealing characters,Rules of Civilitywon the hearts of readers and critics alike.

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On the last night of 1937,twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey,a handsome banker,happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society-where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.With its sparkling depiction of New York's social strata,its intricate imagery and themes,and its immensely appealing characters,Rules of Civilitywon the hearts of readers and critics alike.

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ABOUTRULES OF CIVILITY

From theNew York Times-bestselling author ofA Gentleman in Moscow,a "sharply stylish"(Boston Globe) novel of a young woman in post-Depression era New York who suddenly finds herself thrust into high society.On the last night of 1937,twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey,a handsome banker,happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society-where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.With its sparkling depiction of New York's social strata,its intricate imagery and themes,and its immensely appealing characters,Rules of Civilitywon the hearts of readers and critics alike.

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We launched ourselves into the evening like satellites and orbited the city two miles above the earth,powered by failing,fallen currencies and finely filtered spirits.

This sophisticated and entertaining first novel presents the story of a young woman whose life is on the brink of transformation.

On the last night of 1937,twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey,a handsome banker,happens to sit down at the neighbouring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society-where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.

With its sparkling depiction of New York's social strata,its intricate imagery and themes,and its immensely appealing characters,Rules of Civility won the hearts of readers and critics alike.

Publisher: Hodder & StoughtonISBN: 9781444708875Number of pages: 368Weight: 239 gDimensions: 197 x 129 x 23 mm

'Impossibly glamorous...Towles conjures up vintage New York so marvellously that it made me feel nostalgic for a place I've never been to.'-The Times

'Achingly stylish...witty,slick production,replete with dark intrigue,period details,and a suitably Katharine Hepburn-like heroine.'-Guardian

'The summer's must-read: gripping and beautiful.'-Sunday Times

'Terrific. A smart,witty,charming dry-martini of a novel.'- David Nicholls,author of One Day

'This is a flesh-and-blood tale you believe in,with fabulous period detail. It's all too rare to find a fun,glamorous,semi-literary tale to get lost in... While you're lost in the whirl of silk stockings,fur and hip flasks,all you care about is what Katey Kontent does next.'- Viv Groskop,Observer

'Irresistible... A cross between Dorothy Parker and Holly Golightly,Katey Kontent is a priceless narrator in her own right - the brains of a bluestocking with the legs of a flapper and the mores of Carrie Bradshaw.'- Elena Seymenliyska,Telegraph

'Because who doesn't want to be transported to Thirties Manhattan'- Lucy Mangan

'Jazz-age New York is the setting for martinis and girls on the make in Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. As glamorous as it is gut-wrenching,this is the summer's must-read.'-ELLE

'...my book of the year. If the unthinkable happened and I could never read another new work of fiction in 2011,I'd simply re-read this sparkling,stylish book,with yet another round of martinis as dry as the author's wit.'- Jackie McGlone,Herald

'Set against a soundtrack of clinking glasses and saxophones,the book is a love letter to the city and the era,so confidently written it instantly plunges you into Thirties New York. Towles creates a narrative that sparkles with sentences so beautiful you'll stop and re-read them. A delicious and memorable novel that will leave you wistful - and desperate for a martini.'-Stylist

'This book feels special...Towles was born to write.'- Sun Herald

'Even the most jaded New Yorker can see the beauty in Amor Towles'Rules of Civility the antiqued portrait of an unlikely jet set making the most of Manhattan.'-San Francisco Chronicle

'Rattles along at the pace of a riotous night out in the book's vividly evoked Manhattan. It is atmospheric,satisfying Great Gatsby-lite complete,with fish-out-of-water first-person narration,country house parties and a fabulously wealthy male protagonist who is not all that he seems.'- Ben Hoyle,The Times

'Impossibly glamorous,Rules of Civilitytakes in 1930s New York with a dry martini and a side order of sharp-tongued wit. with vintage period detail verging on the nostalgic,it's a stylish tale of ambitious,wisecracking gals on the make in Manhattan...With love at its heart (love lost,regained,betrayed and shared),this book is so much more than the sum of its parts as it takes in ambition,manner and the American Dream along the way. Where it excels is not letting the style become its only substance...Rules of Civility has the feel of a classic,one that's as rich in story as in nostalgia and love for New York...With crackling prose,a compelling story and a beautiful way with words,this clever and sassy book is not only dull of charm,it's shockingly good fun too.'-Fiction Uncovered