This year marks the 50th anniversary of Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Vintage is marking the occasion with a new paperback edition, on sale this week. The book continues to sell about 30,000 copies a year, and today's commercial authors clearly aren't sheepish about trying to cash in on the iconic title's aura. Though they may not share much beyond that, these novels have benefited from aligning themselves with Holly Golightly's je ne sais quoi.

Breakfast at Tiffany'sby Truman Capote (Random House, 1958) Sundays at Tiffany'sby James Patterson (Little, Brown, 2008) Bergdorf Blondesby Plum Sykes (Miramax, 2004) Chasing Harry Winstonby Lauren Weisberger (S&S, 2008)
Plot:
A young writer recalls his charming neighbor, Holly Golightly, who escaped an impoverished rural childhood to become a New York sophisticate. A young girl's imaginary friend—handsome, smart and perfect—reappears in her adult life as a real person. A young Park Avenue heiress sashays her way through New York society in search of the perfect P.H. (Potential Husband). Three young New York women make a pact to drastically change their lives in the next year.
Opening Line:
“I am always drawn back to places where I have lived, the houses and their neighborhoods.” “Michael was running as fast as he could, racing down thickly congested streets toward New York Hospital....” “Bergdorf Blondes are a thing, you know.... Absolutely everyone wants to be one, but it's actually très difficult.” “When Leigh's doorbell rang unexpectedly at nine on a Monday night, she did not think, Gee, I wonder who that could be. She thought, Shit.”
Who knew, darling?
Early reviews weren't raves. The New Yorker called it “empty nostalgia.” The book's launch party was the first book celebration at Tiffany & Co. since the publication of BaT. Sykes told the Telegraph, “My book is... the Breakfast at Tiffany's for 2004.” One character decides she must “make do with the sterling silver Tiffany heart pendant Duncan had given her.”