Vikram Seth’s ‘Suitable Boy’ Sequel Finds a New Home

Weidenfeld and Nicolson, an imprint of the British publisher Orion, has acquired “A Suitable Girl,” the sequel to Vikram Seth’s gargantuan 1993 novel “A Suitable Boy,” after a deal with another publisher fell through this summer when Mr. Seth failed to deliver the manuscript on time.

“A Suitable Girl,” which Hamish Hamilton had acquired for a reported $1.7 million, was to have been published in the fall, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of “A Suitable Boy,” which tells â€" in more than 1,300 pages â€" the interlocking stories of four Indian families, and centers on the quest to find a husband for a rebellious young woman named Lata. But that deal began unraveling in July, prompting speculation that Penguin, Hamish’s parent company, was paying more attention to the bottom line in the wake of its merger with Random House.

The new novel, which will feature Lata, now a grandmother, in the role of matchmaker, is now scheduled to be published in 2016.

The Orion deal also included e-book rights to “A Suitable Boy,” which will be published electronically for the first time, along with an anniversary edition of the print book, which has sold more than a million copies in 20 languages.

Mr. Seth, who has published only one other novel since “A Suitable Boy,” said in a statement on Orion’s Web site that he was happy to be back with his old publisher, which “took a risk” 20 years ago with “A Suitable Boy.”

“It is entirely in the fitness of things that ‘A Suitable Girl’ will be joining her companion,” he said. “And for my part, it is a great pleasure to be home again.”