The Improbability Of Love by Hannah Rothschild
About the Book
Annie 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 dusty on her mantelpiece.
But every painting has a story - and if it could speak, what would it tell us?
For Annie has stumbled across The Improbability Of Love, a lost masterpiece by Antoine Watteau, one of the most influencial 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 some of 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.
About the Author
Hannah Rothschild is a writer and film director. Her documentary feature films have appeared on the BBC and HBO, and at international film festivals. She has written film scripts for Ridley Scott and Working Title, and articles for Vanity Fair, New York Times and Vogue. Her first book, The Baroness, was published in 2012 and has been translated into six languages. She will become the chair of the National Gallery in August this year and is currently a trustee of the Tate Gallery and the Vice President of the Hay Literary Festival.
Q & A
When I write, I like to...
...shut myself away for a week at a time. I don’t see or talk to anyone and try to fully immerse myself in my characters' world.
One thing that people don't know about me is...
...if I told you that there would be nothing left to hide...
The book that inspired me to write is...
...Evelyn Waugh’s ‘Scoop’- I can’t imagine a more perfect book.
My specialty dish in the kitchen is...
...I would love to pretend it was something grand like Louis XIV¹s Harlequin chicken but it’s actually a feta and oregano omelette.
My current view is of...
...a cherry tree in a brisk wind struggling to hold onto its last few blossoms.
One of my favourite authors is...
...Evelyn Waugh because he manages to be silly, spiky, profound and incredibly funny in just one sentence.
The thing I love most about words is...
...they tell one story on the page and another richer one in the imagination.
