Who wrote the novel "Bridget Jones's Diary"?

"Bridget Jones's Diary" is a 1996 novel by Helen Fielding. Written in the form of a personal diary, the novel chronicles a year in the life of Bridget Jones, a thirty-something single working woman living in London. She writes about her career, self-image, vices, family, friends, and romantic relationships.

By 2006, the book had sold over two million copies worldwide. Critics have credited Fielding's novel as the "ur-text" of the contemporary chick lit movement. A sequel, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason", was published in 1999. The novel won the 1998 British Book of the Year.

A film adaptation of the novel was released in 2001. The film stars Renée Zellweger (in an Academy Award nominated role) as the eponymous heroine, Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver, and Colin Firth as Mark Darcy. It was directed by Sharon Maguire (Helen Fielding's friend who was the inspiration for Shazzer) and the screenplay was written by Fielding, Andrew Davies, and Richard Curtis.