London, 17th August 2021 – Book lovers and yoga fans turned pages and poses today for an early morning yoga book launch, as the date, title and cover of Again, Rachel, the long-awaited follow-up to Keyes’s Rachel’s Holiday, was revealed.
Over 150 keen yogis gathered on Potters Field in the shadow of the iconic Tower Bridge for an early morning vinyasa flow yoga class with a literary twist.
The event was organised by Penguin Michael Joseph, and hosted by MoreYoga – a London based Yoga brand with over 33 studio spaces in the capital. Participants had signed up to take part in the mysterious event, with the promise of an announcement of a sequel to an internationally loved book, but were stunned and delighted as the voice of Marian Keyes came on the PA, in an exclusive message announcing one of the most highly anticipated novels in recent years. The front cover of the novel, Again, Rachel, was then revealed to mirror the poses of attendees who sat cross-legged facing forwards, in contemplative Sukhasana pose.
The follow up comes almost twenty-five years after Rachel’s Holiday, one of Marian Keyes’s most popular books, was published in Ireland (December 1997). It has gone on to sell over 1.5million copies since release and been published in sixteen different languages.
It is now being revealed that Again, Rachel will be released on 17th February 2022, meaning the wait is almost over.
Rachel Walsh is back! Back in Ireland. Back in The Cloisters – as a counsellor, thankfully, not a client. And back to face the demons of her past as the man she has tried very hard to forget returns and all her certainties – of life, love and family – wobble . . .
Marian Keyes, author, says, “This time 25 years ago I was writing a book called Rachel Holiday. Over the years people have talked about the character of Rachel and asked me if I would ever write a sequel, and I said “No no, I’m not a sequel person”. And it turns out I was telling a lie, because I have written a sequel to Rachel’s Holiday. It’s called Again, Rachel, and it’s coming out in February 2022, although most of it is set in 2018, because of the pesky Covids. It features all of the Walsh sisters, and some people that were in the original book, such as Bridget and Nola, and some fella called Luke Costello? I’m really delighted with the way it’s turned out, and I hope if you get to read it that you’ll be delighted too!”
Louise Moore – Managing Director at Penguin Michael Joseph: ‘It’s hard to believe that it’s almost twenty-five years since the publication of Marian’s landmark novel Rachel’s Holiday. It defined a new kind of commercial, relevant writing, and has now become a modern classic. And as the first book I ever published with Marian, I am so very honoured and excited to be publishing Again, Rachel, Rachel’s follow-up story. Marian has rightly been praised for redefining popular fiction. Her deeply honest, nuanced portrayals of women at all stages of their lives, through the loveable, flawed heroines who inhabit her novels, have inspired an army of loyal readers. Marian can make you laugh and make you cry in the space of a page, she constantly surprises, she never under delivers. We at Penguin Michael Joseph love and admire Marian, and are incredibly proud to bring Again, Rachel to her legions of fans across the world.’
Emily Harding, yoga instructor at MoreYoga says, “When the chance to collaborate with Marian Keyes on this special open-air yoga class came up, I couldn’t have been more excited! Yoga offers us the chance to work inwards, with and on ourselves, just like the journey Rachel goes on in Rachel’s Holiday. I offered plenty of stillness and silence for contemplation of what is truly important to us, beyond the titles and labels that we mis-identify with. We allow the seeds for future transformation to be sown when we are allowing the practice to sink in, in savasana, and are so much more receptive to new ideas, which is why it was so incredible Marian surprised everyone with a special message at the end, as they were present and ready to receive her magic!”
All attendees of the class received a copy of Rachel’s Holiday, an Again, Rachel T-shirt and 2 weeks free membership to MoreYoga.
Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes will be released by Penguin Michael Joseph on 17th February 2022, and an anniversary edition of Rachel’s Holiday will be released on 11th November 2021.