EXCLUSIVE: In a 10-way bidding war playing out in London and Los Angeles, Universal International Studios and Working Title have won the rights to Little Hands, a partial manuscript by British author Celia Walden, for series adaptation.

Sources said the rights deal is in the six figures against 7 figures, which is remarkable for a partial manuscript. A publishing deal has not yet been made. Walden will exec produce the series alongside 42’s Peter Dealbert, Josh Varney and Ben Pugh.

Said to be the first book in a series, Little Hands watches as a young British woman with a mysterious past inadvertently joins a ruthless gang of female thieves who rob the ultra-wealthy along the French Riviera. As the local authorities’ investigation intensifies, she must face the complexities and interpersonal dynamics within the criminal enterprise while torn on whether to stay with this newfound ‘family’; that is, so long as she can keep her hidden past from being exposed.

The title of the book emerged from a conversation Walden had with a local policeman in Saint-Tropez, a glamorous French coastal town where burglaries are prevalent. Often, the offenders are “les petites mains,” or “little hands” — female criminals who, while unassuming, are highly skilled at what they do.

An author, journalist and columnist, Walden is currently developing her novel Payday for television with Eleventh Hour. Previously, her novel The Square was optioned by Peter Chernin’s North Road. Walden has also penned the novels Harm’s Way and Babysitting George, while writing for the likes of GQ, The Spectator, Glamour, Standpoint, Elle, Russian Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Red Magazine, Net-a-Porter’s The Edit, Grazia and Stylist. She’s Cambridge-educated and was born and raised in Paris.

Coming off success with Day of the Jackal, the acclaimed spy thriller novel adaptation, starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch, which has been renewed for a second season at Peacock/Sky Atlantic, Universal International Studios is currently in post, alongside Working Title, on Netflix detective series Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole starring Joel Kinnaman.

The deal was brokered by Walden’s reps at 42 and attorney Ryan Nord of The Nord Group.

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