{"product_id":"9780141392189","title":"On Tangled Paths","description":"\u003cp\u003eA moving love story and a vivid depiction of Berlin in the 1870s, from Germany's greatest nineteenth-century novelist Theodor Fontane.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLene is a beautiful, orphaned young seamstress, and Botho is a handsome, aristocratic cavalry officer. They are in love, yet know they have only a short time together as society deems their relationship impossible and refuses to acknowledge the seriousness of their feelings. But while Botho appears to have a glittering life ahead of him, the love he feels may yet be his undoing. Published in 1887, \u003ci\u003eOn Tangled Paths\u003c\/i\u003e caused a scandal on publication with its portrayal of a sexual affair across the classes, and is a taut, flawless masterpiece.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheodor Fontane was born in the Prussian province of Brandenburg in 1819. After qualifying as a pharmacist, he made his living as a writer. From 1855 to 1859, he lived in London and worked as a freelance journalist and press agent for the Prussian embassy. While working as a war correspondent during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1 he was taken prisoner, but released after two months. His first novel, \u003ci\u003eBefore the Storm\u003c\/i\u003e, was published when he was fifty-eight and was followed by sixteen further novels, of which \u003ci\u003eEffi Briest\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNo Way Back\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eOn Tangled Paths\u003c\/i\u003e are all published in Penguin Classics. He died in 1898.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeter James Bowman completed a PhD on Fontane at Cambridge University, and now works as a writer and translator. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'\u003ci\u003eOn Tangled Paths\u003c\/i\u003e has the flawless logic and beautiful design of the novella at its best' - Paul Binding, \u003ci\u003eThe Spectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'There is an undertow of sadness to this novel, yet to read it is a joy, for its humanity, subtlety and visual immediacy' - Ruth Pavey, \u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Theodor Fontane's first true masterpiece; it has a perfect beginning, a perfect ending, and no superfluous sentence in between' - Henry Garland\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin UK","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47183405809904,"sku":"9780141392189","price":12.72,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780141392189_p0.jpg?v=1763655662","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780141392189","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}