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Amy Pascal’s Pascal Pictures has acquired Ayesha at Last, a Muslim romantic dramedy novel by Uzma Jalaluddin. Eric Fineman and Isabel Siskin will be the execs shepherding it. The novel, which was published in Canada and will debut in the U.S. next year, is a present day retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in a Muslim community in Toronto.

The novel was shopped as interest swelled in Crazy Rich Asians, and it was helped by an appetite to tell a fun story focused on historically underrepresented characters.

Uzma Jalaluddin is Canadian writer who’s going places. The high school teacher/Toronto Star parenting columnist recently took on another job title: author. Her first novel, Ayesha At Last, has become the must-read book of the summer. The delightful story is a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, but instead of being about white British people from the 19^th century, it’s centred around a community of South Asian-Canadians living in Scarborough today.

Ayesha At Last is both hilarious and relatable. Her protagonist, twenty-seven-year-old Ayesha, is a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet trying to manage her career as a teacher with her aspirations of becoming a poet. She’s far too busy to fall in love, but when she meets Khalid, her handsome new neighbour, sparks fly. The only problem is that she and Khalid don’t always see eye-to-eye. Can these contemporary Canadian incarnations of the iconic Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet resolve their differences in time for a happy ending? Well, pick up a copy at your local bookstore or library and find out! We wouldn’t want to spoil the ending of the summer’s most delicious new read!

We sat down Jalaluddin to talk about Ayesha At Last, the importance of diversity in popular culture, and her advice for fledgling authors.

Uzma Jalaluddin’s debut novel, “Ayesha at Last,” takes place in a close-knit immigrant Muslim community in Canada, and features an outspoken Muslim heroine who falls for a more conservative Muslim man, a Darcy to her Lizzie Bennett.

This sweet debut novel ticks all the boxes for one of summer’s best reads: It’s smart, witty, romantic and utterly charming. Taking cues from Pride and Prejudice, the story revolves around pretty Ayesha Shamsi, who, along with her Muslim family, lives across the street from the more conservative—and attractive—Khalid Mirza. As the two clash over everything from poetry to arranged marriage, they also begin to connect. When mistaken identity, troublesome relatives and workplace drama loom, it’s up to these two adorable characters to save the day and find their path to true love. —Suzanne Moutis