{"product_id":"improbability-of-love-book-hannah-rothschild-9781408862445","title":"The Improbability of Love","description":"\u003cp\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2016 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWINNER OF THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE FOR COMIC FICTION 2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnnie McDee, alone after the disintegration of her long-term relationship and trapped in a dead-end job, is searching for a present for her unsuitable lover in a neglected second-hand shop. Within the jumble of junk and tack, a grimy painting catches her eye. Leaving the store with the picture after spending her meagre savings, she prepares an elaborate dinner for two, only to be stood up, the gift gathering dust on her mantelpiece.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But every painting has a story – and if it could speak, what would it tell us?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor Annie has stumbled across ‘\u003ci\u003eThe Improbability of Love’\u003c\/i\u003e, a lost masterpiece by Antoine Watteau, one of the most influential French painters of the eighteenth century. Soon Annie is drawn unwillingly into the art world, and finds herself pursued by a host of interested parties that would do anything to possess her picture. For an exiled Russian oligarch, an avaricious Sheika, a desperate auctioneer, an unscrupulous dealer and several others, the painting symbolises their greatest hopes and fears. In her search for the painting's true identity, Annie will uncover the darkest secrets of European history – and in doing so, she will learn more about herself, opening up to the possibility of falling in love again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Irreverent, witty and sharply sweet, \u003ci\u003eThe Improbability of Love\u003c\/i\u003e explores the confusion and turmoil of life and the complexities of love, loss and hurt – revealing the lows to which human nature can stoop and the heights to which the soul can soar.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49535714132241,"sku":"GOR006299327","price":22.49,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49674312122641,"sku":"GOR006466790","price":22.49,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49727332319505,"sku":"GOR010326438","price":24.49,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50018537865489,"sku":"GOR007787787","price":25.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1408862441.jpg?v=1751449694","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-au\/products\/improbability-of-love-book-hannah-rothschild-9781408862445","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}