{"product_id":"under-the-wide-and-starry-sky-9781444778434","title":"Under the Wide and Starry Sky","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''FABULOUS'' \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''FASCINATING'' \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the age of thirty-five, \u003cb\u003eFanny van de Grift Osbourne\u003c\/b\u003e leaves her philandering husband in San Francisco and sets sail for Belgium to study art, with her three children and nanny in tow. Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her brood repair to a quiet artists'' colony in France where she can recuperate. There she meets \u003cb\u003eRobert Louis Stevenson\u003c\/b\u003e, ten years her junior, who is instantly smitten with the earthy, independent, and opinionated \u003ci\u003ebelle Americaine\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA woman ahead of her time, Fanny does not immediately take to the young lawyer who longs to devote his life to literature rather than the law - and who would eventually write such classics as \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTreasure Island\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e. In time, though, she succumbs to Stevenson''s charms, a\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHer research is rock-solid but never allowed to get in the way of a \u003cb\u003efabulous \u003c\/b\u003e(true) story. * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003elyrical \u003c\/b\u003enovel of Robert Louis Stevenson's troubled marriage. \u003cb\u003eFascinating\u003c\/b\u003e...Nancy Horan's second historical novel reimagines another tempestuous love story. * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003eUnlike the history books, Horan pays as much attention to Fanny as Louis, and fierce independent soul that she is ... she's more than capable of holding her own. Theirs is the sort of consuming, complicated relationship that may well be exhausting to live through, but \u003cb\u003eon the page it thrills\u003c\/b\u003e. * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eOperatic, global in its settings and dead-on in its portrayal of pre-feminism-era women and their limited opportunities... \u003cb\u003eInfused with color, passion and intellectual spark\u003c\/b\u003e... Horan's delightful reimagining ... has created a worthy tribute to Stevenson and the woman who stood by him. * Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003egreat\u003c\/b\u003e, broad sweep of a narrative * Viv Groskop, Red Magazine *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWarmhearted\u003c\/b\u003e... Horan drapes this skeleton of facts with a richly imagined musculature of love, laughter, pain and sacrifice. * USA Today *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFact and fiction blend beautifully\u003c\/b\u003e in \u003ci\u003eUnder the Wide and Starry Sky\u003c\/i\u003e, which explores the tempestuous love story between Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson and his American wife. * Good Housekeeping *\u003cbr\u003eFew writers are as masterful as she is at blending carefully researched history with the novelist's art... Once again, \u003cb\u003eI was enthralled\u003c\/b\u003e. Horan's prose is gorgeous... I kept re-reading passages just to savor the exquisite wordplay. Even the smallest characters, including the nonhuman ones, rate full range of personality * Dallas Morning News *\u003cbr\u003eOne for any literature lover, Nancy Horan's \u003ci\u003eUnder the Wide and Starry Sky\u003c\/i\u003e imagines the story of how author Robert Louis Stevenson met his tempestuous wife, Fanny... Their story is interspersed with extracts from Stevenson's own work, which are cleverly fit around his life events, giving the book a compelling biographical edge, which yet does not distract from the tale itself. \u003cb\u003eA thoughtful read, told in very beautiful prose\u003c\/b\u003e. * Image magazine *\u003cbr\u003eHoran's \u003cb\u003espectacular \u003c\/b\u003esecond novel (following book-club favorite \u003ci\u003eLoving Frank\u003c\/i\u003e) has been \u003cb\u003eworth the wait\u003c\/b\u003e. Brimming with the same artistic verve that drives her complicated protagonists, it follows the loving, tumultuous partnership of Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and his Indiana-born wife, Fanny Osbourne ... Equally \u003cb\u003eadventurous\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003ecolorful\u003c\/b\u003e, Louis and Fanny could each command the story singlehandedly. Together, they are riveting and insightfully envisioned ... An exhilarating epic about a free-spirited couple who traveled the world yet found home only in one another * Booklist - starred review *\u003cbr\u003eHoran's second novel (following \u003ci\u003eLoving Frank\u003c\/i\u003e)  again mines the true story of a famous man and equally remarkable woman  of history to impressive effect. This time, instead of Mameh Cheney and  Frank Lloyd Wright, the central couple is Fanny Osbourne and Robert  Louis Stevenson ... This \u003cb\u003ebeautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e novel, neatly balanced  between its two protagonists, makes them come alive with grace, humor,  and understanding. Horan's empathy for both Louis and Fanny allows her  to capture their life together with all the complexity and nuance of a  real-life relationship. * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003eFanny and Louis are wild-hearted seekers, and Nancy Horan traces their  incredible journey fearlessly, plunging us through decades, far-flung  continents and chilling brushes with death. \u003cb\u003eAmbitious and often  breathtaking\u003c\/b\u003e, this sweeping story spills over with spirited, uncompromising life. * Paula McLain, bestselling author of THE PARIS WIFE *\u003cbr\u003eFans of \u003ci\u003eLoving Frank \u003c\/i\u003ewill adore this \u003cb\u003eauthentic\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003erichly detailed\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eutterly captivating\u003c\/b\u003e new novel from Nancy Horan. \u003ci\u003eUnder the Wide and Starry Sky \u003c\/i\u003eis a globe-spanning literary wonder - \u003cb\u003ethe perfect book for those who read fiction in search of the truth\u003c\/b\u003e. * Jamie Ford, author of HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET *\u003cbr\u003eAs she did so magically in \u003ci\u003eLoving Frank\u003c\/i\u003e, Nancy Horan brings to life a distant time and faraway places populated by characters at once familiar and delightfully new. By widening her lens to shine a light on the lives of those whom history usually ignores - the wives of famous men - \u003cb\u003eHoran gives us a marvellous gift\u003c\/b\u003e: an entirely new appreciation of Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny Osbourne. * Ayelet Waldman, author of LOVE AND TREASURE *\u003cbr\u003eWhat \u003cb\u003ean extraordinary story\u003c\/b\u003e! Throughout the novel, I felt I was right there with Fanny and Louis, sharing their hopes and hardships as they traveled the world. The portrayal of their lives on Samoa was especially \u003cb\u003egripping\u003c\/b\u003e. Nancy Horan has transformed everything I thought I knew about Robert Louis Stevenson, and in Fanny - his passionate, independent American wife-she has created a woman whose struggles continue to haunt me. * Lauren Belfer, author of A FIERCE RADIANCE and CITY OF LIGHT *\u003cbr\u003eMaybe it goes without saying that it's a hard thing to chase a book as successful as \u003ci\u003eLoving Frank\u003c\/i\u003e with a second novel. For one thing, you worry it was an accident the first time around. The good news is that it wasn't (an accident) - and Nancy Horan is back with another \u003cb\u003ebeautifully crafted\u003c\/b\u003e story, and no signs of a sophomore slump. * Pete Dexter, author of PARIS TROUT, winner of the National Book Award *\u003cbr\u003eIt's one thing to bring the past to life. It's quite another to bring it back rich in all its glorious complications. \u003ci\u003eUnder the Wide and Starry Sky\u003c\/i\u003e is that rare good thing, a novel that follows the voyage of a passionate and complicated marriage across the years, a marriage between two unforgettable questing spirits, nonetheless bound by the skeins of their time. Nancy Horan has done it again, capturing the entwined lives of Fanny Osbourne and Robert Louis Stevenson so uncannily, it reads like truth - and better. \u003cb\u003eI loved every minute I had it in my hands\u003c\/b\u003e. * Sarah Blake, New York Times bestselling author of THE POSTMISTRESS *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"John Murray Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49083975074135,"sku":"9781444778434","price":9.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781444778434.jpg?v=1725550634","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/under-the-wide-and-starry-sky-9781444778434","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}