Starter for Ten: A Novel

　　一九八五年，布萊恩．傑克森懷抱著雄心壯志進入大學，展開新鮮人的生活。布萊恩內心深處一直有個祕密的希望，就是參加益智問答的電視節目－－《英倫大學知識對抗賽》。

　　之後，布萊恩成功入選大學代表隊，全體隊員也通過資格賽測試，準備要上電視比賽，布萊恩的美夢就要成真了。除此之外，布萊恩發現自己無可救藥地愛上他的隊友愛麗絲，她不僅美麗聰明，全身散發來自上流家庭的氣質，而且她的生活看來就是完美與勝利的最佳典範。

　　可惜愛麗絲一心只想成為演員，對於布萊恩的殷勤卻興趣缺缺。布萊恩只好想辦法贏得她的芳心，他必須不計代價贏得競賽，因為眾所周知，女人們真正喜愛的是知識廣博的男人……　　

　　The year is 1985. Brian Jackson, a working-class kid on full scholarship, has started his first term at university. He has a dark secret–a long-held, burning ambition to appear on the wildly popular British TV quiz show University Challenge–and now, finally, it seems the dream is about to become reality. He’s made the school team, and they’ve completed the qualifying rounds and are limbering up for their first televised match. (And, what’s more, he’s fallen head over heels for one of his teammates, the beautiful, brainy, and intimidatingly posh Alice Harbinson.) Life seems perfect and triumph inevitable–but as his world opens up, Brian learns that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

　　★本書中譯版《戀愛學分》由馥林文化出版。

作者簡介

大衛．尼克斯　David Nicholls

　　出生於一九六六年，來自英國漢普郡伊斯特列。一九八八年自布里斯托大學畢業，取得英國文學及戲劇學位。大學畢業後，大衛懷著演員的夢想，取得獎學金於紐約美國音樂影藝學院深造。一九九一年回到倫敦，曾在幾家餐廳和酒吧工作，最後終於取得英國演員協會會員的身分。大衛現在與伴侶漢娜住在北倫敦，育有兩名子女。

　　大衛在開始寫作前是一名男演員，曾演出《猶豫不決（Cold Feet）》第三季、《火線救援（Rescue Me）》、《遇見你（I Saw You）》等片。他寫過多部受歡迎的電視劇本，曾經兩度被提名英國金像獎。

　　他的處女作《戀愛學分》，名列二○○四年「理查與茱迪讀書俱樂部」選書第一名，他的第二本小說《One Day》更是大受歡迎，不但盤踞英國暢銷書排行榜超過二年，也改編為電影《真愛挑日子》，由安．海瑟薇擔任女主角。

　　David Nicholls is currently one of the most successful young screenwriters working in television. His credits include the third series of Cold Feet, I Saw You and Rescue Me, which he also created. He co-wrote the screenplay for Simpatico, a film starring Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone, Nick Nolte and Albert Finney. Starter For Ten is David's first novel.