An Astronomer in Love

LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2024

SHORLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD VIKING AWARD FOR FICTION 2024

'Perfect for the poolside or sitting outside a café with a pastis and olives' The Times

Part swashbuckling adventure on the high seas and part modern-day love story set in the heart of Paris, An Astronomer in Love is an enchanting tale of adventure and the power of love from best-selling author Antoine Laurain.

In 1760, Guillaume le Gentil, real-life astronomer to King Louis XV, sets out for the oceans of India to document the transit of Venus. The weather is turbulent, the seas are rough and his quest may be more complicated than initially thought.

250 years later, estate agent Xavier Lemercier chances upon Guillaume's telescope in a property he's sold. As he looks out across the rooftops of Paris, he discovers an intriguing woman with a zebra in her apartment.

Then the woman walks through the doors of his office, and his l ife changes forever . . .

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Praise for An Astronomer in Love

Longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2024

Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Viking Award for Fiction 2024

'Perfect for the poolside or sitting outside a café with a pastis and olives - and bound to give you just the same cheering lift' The Times



'A brilliant love story of two lives separated by centuries but linked by Venus. The supporting cast, including a not-quite-dead dodo and a zebra, will have readers laughing and crying in equal measure' The Lady


'True to form, Laurain's latest love story is an unusual one, snagging attention with its sensuous references, historical knowledge, and taste for serendipity. Its most bombastic events are forwarded with shrugging self-awareness, disarming disbelief; its tragedies are cutting, and its triumphs are irresistible. Cinematic and enchanting' Foreword Reviews (Starred Review)



'Simply beautiful. An enchanting dual-timeline story of a love written in the stars' Fiona Valpy, author of The Dressmaker's Gift

'A perfect treasure waiting to be discovered by adventurous readers. An Astronomer in Love is a witty, lovely, surprising triumph' William Ryan, author of A House of Ghosts

Praise for Antoine Laurain


'Parisian perfection' HM The Queen Consort

'The very quintessence of French romance' The Times


'A hymn to la vie Parisienne' The Guardian


'Like finding a gem among the bric-a-brac in a local brocante' The Telegraph

'A master storyteller' Huffington Post

'Soaked in Parisian atmosphere . . . will have you rushing to the Eurostar post-haste' Daily Mail

'J'adore Antoine and his contemporary French comedies' Wendy Holden


'Like fine wine, Laurain's novels get better with each one he writes' Phaedra Patrick, author of The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper


'The Parisian tableaus are so descriptive that you can almost sm ell the croissants' Washington Post

'Witty and perceptive' Publishers Weekly

'The novels of Antoine Laurain [are] straightforward and ingenious' New York Journal of Books