{"product_id":"the-beginning-of-spring-9780544484115","title":"The Beginning of Spring","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eFitzgerald's novel of pre-revolutionary Moscow, shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Featuring an introduction by Andrew Miller.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Fitzgerald was the author of several slim, perfect novels.\u003cem\u003e The Blue Flower \u003c\/em\u003eand\u003cem\u003e The Beginning of Sprin\u003c\/em\u003eg both had me abuzz for days the first time I read them. She was curiously perfect.\"-- Teju Cole, author of \u003cem\u003eOpen City \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Writing so precise and lilting it can make you shiver.\" -- \u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMarch 1913. Moscow is stirring herself to meet the beginning of spring. English painter Frank Reid returns from work one night to find that his wife has gone away; no one knows where or why, or whether she'll ever come back. All Frank knows for sure is that he is now alone and must find someone to care for his three young children. Into Frank's life comes Lisa Ivanovna, a quiet, calming beauty from the country, untroubled to the point of seeming simple. But is she? And why has Frank's bookkeeper, Selwyn Crane, gone to such lengths to bring these two together?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePENELOPE FITZGERALD (1916-2000) was one of the most elegant and distinctive voices in British fiction. She won the National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction for \u003ci\u003eThe Blue Flower, \u003c\/i\u003e the Booker Prize for \u003ci\u003eOffshore, \u003c\/i\u003e and three of her novels -- \u003ci\u003eThe Bookshop, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Gate of Angels, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Beginning of Spring\u003c\/i\u003e -- were short-listed for the Booker Prize.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Harper Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50641981669650,"sku":"9780544484115","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3d49a2c1-0689-4328-8966-22b5fe4aa697.jpg?v=1733049244","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-beginning-of-spring-9780544484115","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}