{"product_id":"9781405988766-the-cost-of-living","title":"The Cost of Living","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRediscover the brilliance of \u003ci\u003eThe Cost of Living\u003c\/i\u003e in the Mermaid Collection - classic books by popular pioneering female authors republished to delight new generations of readers. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA witty and characterful novel about the aftermath of a party thrown by singletons Marianne, a freelance typist in her mid-thirties and twenty-six year old Alexandra, a freelance portrait painter, who live in the same apartment building and have decided it's time to meet some men .  \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWith a foreword by Jane Fallon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘You’re always so cynical. It doesn’t do. It makes men feel inferior.’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Quite a few of them are .’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIdealistic Alexandra is throwing a party to meet a more glamorous crowd. Marianne, more sardonic, worries it’ll be the usual sort.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe party is in Alexandra’s attic flat. Marianne will contribute a few bottles of red optimistically labelled Bordeaux. Can it be judged a success? There’s Donald the bus conductor with high-brow dreams, nervous bespectacled Bernhardt and Marius the ghostwriter. Not to mention a brace of Peters. It’s left to sexy, young Pisa and riotous, middle-aged Mummy (neither invited) to steal the show.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet, after the party both Marianne and Alexandra find themselves caught in unexpected – sometimes far from romantic – relationships. Meeting people, it turns out, has the most peculiar consequences. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIs that really the cost of living?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Kathleen Farrell: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Genuine wit, an acute feminine intelligence and a natural distinction of style’\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e ‘A distinctive voice, and she provided her readers with subtle pleasures’ \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56409878593910,"sku":"9781405988766","price":11.14,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/stand_39229692_2793855e-2153-4368-aa46-5f2f775ac358.jpg?v=1767101399","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781405988766-the-cost-of-living","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}