The Improbability of Love A Novel [Paperback]

Finalist for the Baileys Women's Prize

Annie McDee, thirty-one, lives in a shabby London flat, works as a chef, and is struggling to get by. Reeling from a sudden breakup, she’s taken on an unsuitable new lover and finds herself rummaging through a secondhand shop to buy him a birthday gift. A dusty, anonymous old painting catches her eye. After spending her meager savings on the artwork, Annie prepares an exquisite birthday dinner for two—only to be stood up. 

The painting becomes hers, and Annie begins to suspect that it may be more valuable than she’d thought. Soon she finds herself pursued by parties who would do anything to possess her picture: an exiled Russian oligarch, an avaricious sheikha, an unscrupulous art dealer. In her search for the painting’s identity, Annie will unwittingly discover some of the darkest secrets of European history—and the possibility of falling in love again. 

“[A] bright, champagne-fizzy satire of modern romance, human avarice, and the booming international art market.” —Entertainment Weekly

“A romp, a joy, and an inspired feast of clever delights.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, author ofEat, Pray, Love

“Delightful. . . . A delicious and sometimes devastating satire of what the art world has become.” —The New Republic
 
“Impressive. . . . A treat for Anglophiles, Francophiles, art snobs, and skeptical romantics.”—Bustle

“Riveting. . . . With its colorful cast of characters and richly layered plot, The Improbability of Love is entertaining and suspenseful.” —USA Today

“A scintillating new novel.” —Harper’s Bazaar

“A propulsive yarn. . . . Makes an impassioned case for art — as a companion to the lonely, as a restorative to those in pail³ê