Rules of Civility is the first novel published by author Amor Towles. The novel was accepted for publication but without excessive expectations for its success. After all, he had enjoyed a successful career in the banking industry since 1991 upon publication of the book in 2011. Not coincidentally, that career stretched ended abruptly in 2012 as Towles managed to live the dream of all first-time novelist: wildly exceeding project sales estimates.
Having hit the jackpot with commercial success his first time, Towles would go on to produce a follow-up—A Gentleman in Moscow—which managed to avoid the sophomore slump and be nominated for multiple prestigious literary awards.
Rules of Civility, not surprisingly perhaps, is the tale of a banker’s romance with a twenty-five-year old woman. What may be surprising, however, is that it is not an obviously semi-autobiographical peek into the high-rolling banking work covering the author’s years of experience, but is a period piece set during the waning years of the Great Depression. The story told in this novel would make a good companion piece for comparing and contrasting the relatively similar story that is, nevertheless, profoundly different in the rather shocking pre-Code Barbara Stanwyck film Baby Face. Both are stories of women on the lower edges of the economic divide finding their respective ways into the world of New York high finance. In comparison to the Stanwyck film, the title of this novel tells the tale: Stanwyck's Nietzschean title character sleeps her way to the top while the novel’s protagonist Katey Constant takes a much more civilized path to high times, rich associates, and NYC penthouses.
Two years following publication, Lionsgate announced that it had assigned the task of adapting the novel for the screen to Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber. The character of Katy Constant made the book instantly desirable for any actress suitable for the part. However, as of early 2022, there still had yet to be any further news of a possible adaptation moving into production.
