Bloomsbury Book Club with Hannah Rothschild

Join us for an evening discussing art, history and romance as Rachel Johnson interviews Hannah Rothschild, author of the dazzling new novel, The Improbability of Love.

A witty and tenderly savage satire of London life and the art world, The Improbability of Love is the story of Annie McDee, who, when searching for a present for her unsuitable lover in a neglected second-hand shop stumbles across a dusty painting that, unbeknownst to her, happens to be 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, where she’s pursued by a host of characters that would do anything to possess her picture, from an exiled Russian oligarch, to an avaricious Sheika, a desperate auctioneer and an unscrupulous art dealer.

Together, Hannah and Rachel will discuss the inspiration behind the novel – from the London art world, to the darker secrets of European art history and beyond.

‘The Improbability of Love is a romp, a joy, and an inspired feast of clever delights. Reading this book is like a raid on a high-end pastry shop – you marvel at the expertise and cunning of the creations, while never wanting the deliciousness to end’
Elizabeth Gilbert

‘Every page is a joy. It’s funny, sad, profound. The writing dances. It has panache. It’s beautifully structured. It wears its scholarship with a balletic lightness and grace that shadows the Rococo painting at its heart. Its many and varied characters are an exquisite joy. Her range and emotional grasp is wonderful. What more can I say? It’s my Book of the Year already’
Barbara Trapido


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, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and others. 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 Board in August 2015, and is currently a trustee of the Tate Gallery and Waddesdon Manor, and a Vice President of the Hay Literary Festival. She lives in London.

Rachel Johnson
Rachel Johnson is a newspaper columnist, broadcaster and author of seven books including the international bestseller Notting Hell and A Diary of the Lady, and her new novel Fresh Hell (Penguin) is out June, 2015.