Off The Shelf

Synopsis of The Swan Thieves 

Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe, devoted to his profession and the painting hobby he loves, has a solitary but ordered life. When renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient, Marlow finds that order destroyed. Desperate to understand the secret that torments the genius, he embarks on a journey that leads him into the lives of the women closest to Oliver and a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism. Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. The Swan Thieves is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.

The Story Behind the Pick 

When looking for a book for the First Editions Club in March, we knew that The Swan Thieves was a must. One reason Swan Thieves was an obvious selection was because "The Historian made history as the first debut novel to land at number one on The New York Times bestseller list, and as of 2005, it was the fastest-selling hardback debut novel in US history," according to Wikipedia.

This was not Elizabeth Kostova's first book but it would be the first time she had been to Lemuria. Richard Howorth of Square Books in Oxford met and encouraged Kostova to include Lemuria in her next book tour. Thanks to that suggestion we were able to feature Swan Thieves as our March First Editions Club book.

As noted on Elizabeth Kostova's website she is a graduate of Yale and holds a MFA from the University of Michigan where she won the Hopwood Award for the Novel-in-Progress.  She has also won the Book Sense book of the year award in 2006 for The Historian.

This is what Maggie had to say about Swan Thieves:

"Five years ago I read The Historian and absolutely loved it.  When I heard that Kostova's second novel was coming out in January and that she was coming to Lemuria I was thrilled to death.  I checked the mail everyday until I received my advanced reader and then set upon it like 'flies to honey'!  While The Swan Thieves isn't as much of a thriller as The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova showed us again how talented a writer she is.  She does an excellent job in the transition from the modern day to the past as the two stories come together throughout the book.  I hope that it will not take five more years for another story from Kostova."

Elizabeth Kostova was here for a signing and reading on February 17 2010. The Swan Thieves had an initial print run of 750,000 copies. It was published by Little Brown.