is an essay collection by that forever changed the cultural conversation about womanhood, relationships, and, yes, sex. Bushnell moved to New York City at the age of 19, set on becoming a writer. She began writing for The New York Observer in 1993, and in 1994, she created the column "Sex and the City," framed as a humorous take on dating in Manhattan, based on her own experiences. If that sounds familiar, you’re on the right track. Yes, it was exactly like the column Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw wrote on the hit television show Sex and the City, which made its dazzling entrance on HBO in 1998 and still hasn't left the pop culture scene.
The essays in Sex and the City often revolve around finding romance and passion as a contemporary woman living in one of the most populous, diverse, and exciting cities in the world. But as Bushnell has stressed, her column was about so much more than sex. It was about ambition, work, power, partying, fashion, and the friendships we build along the way.
While Bushnell's Sex and the City is nonfiction, the author created the alter ego of "Carrie" to write about her own dating experiences in Manhattan. She also wrote about "Mr. Big," who in her essays is more of an archetype—the driven business power broker who jumps from relationship to relationship without ever getting too attached—than a single character. Bushnell also interviewed other woman about their dating experiences, which provided the inspiration for characters who would later be expanded for the show. There's "Samantha," a representative of the successful woman in her 40s who is able to have sex "like a man," without all the messy emotions. The book also introduces us to minor characters "Charlotte" and "Miranda."
Want to know more about Bushnell's Carrie and others? Read on for our Sex and the City character guide.
Who are the main characters of Sex and the City?
Carrie Bradshaw
The Sex and the City book and, of course, the television show would be nothing without Carrie Bradshaw, sex columnist and hopeful romantic. The Carrie Bradshaw in the book is based on the author herself, Candace Bushnell. In the TV version, Carrie Bradshaw is relatively close to the kind of person she was in the essay collection—just slightly exaggerated. Carrie adores designer clothes and shoes, and strives never to be seen in the same outfit twice. Carrie's story is just as much about her love for the city as it is about her search for the love of a man. She loves going out and exploring New York, always hitting up the hottest night clubs and restaurants. And just like Candace Bushnell in real life, eventually television’s Carrie Bradshaw had her newspaper column turned into a full-length book.
