The Carrie Diaries
Encyclopedia
The Carrie Diaries is a book series written by Candace Bushnell
. The series is a prequel to Sex and the City
, and will follow the character of Carrie Bradshaw
during her senior year of High School during the early 1980s
and part of her life in New York working as a writer. The Los Angeles Times
described it as "An addictive, ingenious origin story." So far, the only other Sex and the City character that will possibly be returning is Samantha Jones
.
network is moving forward with a television series as a prequel
to the original series, based on The Carrie Diaries. The project is being developed by Gossip Girl
producers Josh Schwartz
and Stephanie Savage
. Also, former Sex and the City
writer Amy Harris is tapped to pen the adaptation.
Candace Bushnell
Candace Bushnell is an American author and columnist based in New York City. She is best known for writing a column that was anthologized in a book, Sex and the City, which in turn became the basis for a popular television series and its subsequent film adaptations.-Personal life:Bushnell was born...
. The series is a prequel to Sex and the City
Sex and the City (book)
Sex and the City is a collection of essays by Candace Bushnell based on her and her friends' lifestyles. It was first published in 1997, and re-published in 2001, 2006, and in 2008 as a 10th anniversary movie tie-in edition....
, and will follow the character of Carrie Bradshaw
Carrie Bradshaw
Carrie Preston is the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama Sex and the City, portrayed by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. She is a semi-autobiographical character created by Candace Bushnell, who published the book Sex and the City, based on her own columns in the New York...
during her senior year of High School during the early 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
and part of her life in New York working as a writer. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
described it as "An addictive, ingenious origin story." So far, the only other Sex and the City character that will possibly be returning is Samantha Jones
Samantha Jones
Samantha Jones is the name of:* Samantha Jones * Samantha Jones, British singer* Samantha Jones , a character on the TV show Sex and the City* Sam Jones , a character on the TV show Doctor Who...
.
Synopsis
Before Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw was a small-town girl who knew she wanted more. She's ready for real life to start, but first she must navigate her senior year of high school. Up until now, Carrie and her friends have been inseparable. Then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture, and a friend's betrayal makes her question everything.Characters
- Carrie BradshawCarrie BradshawCarrie Preston is the fictional narrator and lead character of the HBO sitcom/drama Sex and the City, portrayed by actress Sarah Jessica Parker. She is a semi-autobiographical character created by Candace Bushnell, who published the book Sex and the City, based on her own columns in the New York...
- The protagonist of the novel. Smart, witty, and a bit naive, Carrie is an aspiring writer and the oldest of three sisters. The story is told from Carrie's perspective, as she navigates her senior year of high school. Carrie's mother died prior to the start of the novel, leaving her and her sisters Dorrit and Missy under the care of their protective father. At the beginning of the story, Carrie is rejected from an advanced writing seminar at The New SchoolThe New SchoolThe New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
. She is later admitted to Brown UniversityBrown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, her father's alma mater. When she forms a relationship with the new kid at her high school, Sebastian Kydd, Carrie finds herself in conflict with the school's most popular girl, Donna LaDonna. After a string of unfortunate events befall her, Carrie jumps to the conclusion that Donna LaDonna is behind everything. During this time, Carrie's relationship with Sebastian and with her envious best friend Lali deteriorate. Carrie, however, pretends that her affairs are in order as she helps her other best friends, Walt and Maggie, face their own issues. Sebastian and Lali soon turn their backs on Carrie, but Carrie eventually learns how to forgive them. Donna LaDonna and Carrie become friends after taking Photography Class together. When she learns of Carrie's aspirations of moving to New York City, Donna gives Carrie the phone number of her "cool cousin" who resides in the city. In the end, Carrie heads to New York for the summer after The New School finally offers her a spot at their writing seminar. When she arrives in New York, Carrie loses her money and has no way of getting around the city, prompting her to contact Donna's cousin, who ends up being none other than Samantha Jones.
- Sebastian Kydd - The love interest of Carrie in the book. Sebastian moves to Castlebury High after getting kicked out of his old high school. He comes from a wealthy family background and Carrie describes him as "smart and perfect," while perceiving him to be a caring individual. His mom was an old friend of Carrie's mom, and it is made clear that Carrie has been infatuated with Sebastian ever since she first saw him when she was 12. Sebastian's true nature, however, is later revealed through his lies and infidelity, particularly with Carrie's best friend Lali.
- Donna LaDonna - The school's most popular girl, and an aspiring model. When Donna first appears, she was described as someone "in a white dress with a deep V, her ample cleavage accentuated by a tiny diamond cross hanging from a delicate platinum chain." She is feared by most kids at her school, and Donna also has a string of admirers in her life. Carrie comes into conflict with Donna and views her arch-nemesis as someone with no insecurities. However, Carrie is later taken aback after she learns that Donna's biggest fear is that someday, some guy will see her without mascara and run screaming from the room. Donna and Carrie eventually become good friends after becoming partners in their Photography class. Donna gives her "really cool cousin"'s phone number to Carrie for her to contact when she arrives in New York.
- Lali Kandesie - Carrie's "frenemy" and the main antagonistAntagonistAn antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
of the story. Lali, at first, appeared as someone who had good intentions and who only wanted what was best for Carrie. But when Carrie starts a relationship with Sebastian, Lali's true intentions become clear and her insecurities and treacherous character comes to the surface. Lali starts to make disconcerting comments and even pulls practical jokes towards Carrie, making Carrie believe that the pranks were caused by none other than Donna LaDonna. When Carrie and Sebastian experience problems in their relationship, Lali takes advantage of the situation. At the end Carrie comfronts her after finding out that Donna wasn't the one behind the situation and tells her that she wants nothing to do with her anymore.
- George Carter - Carrie's handsome suitor who grew up in New York City and is a student at Brown. George is very affectionate towards Carrie and is supportive of her ambition to become a writer. Carrie sees George as no more than a friend, but Carrie's father insists that she marry someone like George. While on a ski trip, Carrie learns that George is friends with Sebastian's older sister, Amelia. Through Amelia, George learns that Carrie is in a relationship with Sebastian, thus breaking George's heart. George, however, warns Carrie that Sebastian is not who he seems. Carrie dismisses this fact but despite this, George continued to lend support for Carrie to the point of introducing her to his aunt who is a successful writer, Mary Gordon Howard, referred to as "The Gorgon" by Carrie.
- Walt - Walt is Carrie's other best friend. Carrie describes Walt as "one of the girls" as they practically do everything together with their other best friend, Maggie, whom Walt dates in the book. Walt and Maggie have been dating for two years, and Maggie wants to have sex with him. Walt, however, does not comply with Maggie's wishes—causing Maggie to end their relationship. It is later revealed that Walt is gay, and is dating former quarterback 20-year-old Randy Sanders.
- Maggie - Walt's sexually active girlfriend and a best friend of Carrie's. Maggie suffers from low self-esteem, viewing herself as "fat" and "ugly," despite Carrie's assertion that "boys have been drooling over her since she was 13." Walt and Maggie date at the beginning of the book, but their relationship ends when Maggie fears that Walt has intimacy issues and after she develops feelings for Peter, a nerd-turned-hot guy.
- Roberta Castells - a.k.a. "The Mouse," or "Mighty Mouse", is one of Carrie's closest friends. The Mouse is described as pragmatic and as the smartest girl in school. She has a boyfriend named Danny and after she reveals to Carrie that she and Danny have already had sex, Carrie begins to wonder whether everyone is having sex and if she's the only virgin amongst her group of friends. The Mouse appears to be very trustworthy and is well liked by a lot of people, especially Carrie's father.
- Peter Arnold - described by Carrie as "the second-smartest boy in our class and kind of a jerk." It is revealed that Peter used to be a chubby-faced short kid with pasty skin, until he grew and took up smoking. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, The Nutmeg, which Carrie later writes for, using the pseudonymPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Pinky Weatherton. After Maggie breaks up with Walt, she starts a new relationship with Peter. Peter later breaks up with Maggie for popular girl Jen P, a friend of Donna LaDonna
- Missy and Dorrit - Carrie's two younger sisters. Missy is generally more well-behaved compared to the much younger Dorrit, who constantly rebelled throughout much of the novel. Carrie gets along better with Missy, especially since Dorrit had a habit of stealing their possessions and is jealous of the fact that their mother favored Carrie.
Television adaptation
In September 2011, it has been officially announced that The CWThe CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
network is moving forward with a television series as a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the original series, based on The Carrie Diaries. The project is being developed by Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
producers Josh Schwartz
Josh Schwartz
-Film school at USC:In 1995, Schwartz realized his boyhood dream of attending film school to study screen and television writing at the University of Southern California...
and Stephanie Savage
Stephanie Savage
Stephanie Savage is a Canadian screenwriter and television producer. Savage is best known for developing The CW's teen drama series, Gossip Girl from the novel series, and being an executive producer of the Fox series The O.C....
. Also, former Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
writer Amy Harris is tapped to pen the adaptation.