Published Book

Novel Advice

A literary humor book in which characters from classic stories — including Ophelia, Dr. Jekyll, Mrs. Bennet, Hester Prynne, and many more — write in to an advice columnist for help with their very particular problems.

Publisher Simon & Schuster / Tiller Press
My Role Author
Platforms Print · eBook
Year 2020
Back cover of Novel Advice by Jay Bushman, with a description of the book and blurbs from Sean Stewart and Amber Benson.
About

An agony aunt for the fictional

Novel Advice is a collection of advice columns featuring characters from the Western canon. Ophelia writes in about her dating woes. Dr. Jekyll is desperate for work-life balance tips. Mrs. Bennet needs financial advice. Ishmael wonders about rushing into a relationship too quickly. Their letters are answered by Aunt Antigone, who dishes out practical wisdom with a fair dose of snark.

The book is equal parts humor and genuine affection for these characters and the questions at the heart of their stories. (There is also a hidden message inside, which to my knowledge no one has yet found.)

Open spread of the Novel Advice table of contents, listing chapter titles and character names from classic literature — including Anne Shirley, Holden Caulfield, Lady Macbeth, Gregor Samsa, Captain Ahab, and Ebenezer Scrooge — organized into thematic chapters such as 'Receiving an Education,' 'Body, Mind and Spirit,' 'Bonds of Matrimony,' 'The Way We Work,' and 'Money Matters.'
Pull quote from Novel Advice reading: 'They say there is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. But is there really?' — attributed to Friend of Yorick, set in elegant italic script over a partially visible classical painting.
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