{"product_id":"9781405988766","title":"The Cost of Living","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Farrell, Kathleen, DNSc, APRN, ACNP, CCNS, CCRN \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eOf specific Gay \u0026amp; Lesbian interest\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 12 March 2026 by Penguin Books Ltd in the United Kingdom as part of 'The Mermaid Collection' series.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 224 pages\u003cbr\u003e130 x 198 x 17 | 194g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRediscover the brilliance of The Cost of Living in the Mermaid Collection - classic books by popular pioneering female authors republished to delight new generations of readers. Pre-order this gorgeous edition now.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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 . . .  With a foreword by Jane Fallon‘You’re always so cynical. It doesn’t do. It makes men feel inferior.’‘Quite a few of them are . . .’Idealistic Alexandra is throwing a party to meet a more glamorous crowd. Marianne, more sardonic, worries it’ll be the usual sort.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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. Is that really the cost of living?Praise for Kathleen Farrell: ‘Genuine wit, an acute feminine intelligence and a natural distinction of style’ Spectator ‘A distinctive voice, and she provided her readers with subtle pleasures’ Guardian\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bookshop Mold","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55504657088888,"sku":"9781405988766","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0277\/7802\/3522\/files\/9781405988766.jpg?v=1773925712","url":"https:\/\/www.mold-bookshop.co.uk\/products\/9781405988766","provider":"The Bookshop. Mold.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}