A Theory of Love: A Novel

“[This novel] is a rare find—a tempestuous modern love story with a deeply soulful heart.” —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times–bestselling author of The Nest

Helen Gibbs, a British journalist on assignment on the west coast of Mexico, meets Christopher Delavaux, an intriguing half-French, half-American lawyer-turned-financier. Living lives that never stop moving, from their first encounter in Bermeja to marriage in London and travels to such places as Saint-Tropez, Tangier, and Santa Clara, Helen and Christopher must decide how much they exist for themselves and how much they exist for each other.

In an effort to build his firm, Christopher leads a life full of speed and ambition with little time for Helen and even less when he suspects his business partner of illegal activity. Helen, a reluctant voyeur to Christopher’s world of power and position, searches far and wide for reporting work that will “take a bite out of her soul”—refugees in Calais, a mountain climber in Chamonix, an orphaned circus performer in Cuba.

A Theory of Love captures the ambivalence at the center of human experience: does one reside in the familiar comforts of solitude or dare to open one’s heart and risk having it broken? Set in some of the most picturesque places in the world, this novel asks what it means to love someone.

“Richly evoked . . . with a scope and nuanced intelligence that evokes a contemporary version of the world of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.” —The National Book Review

“What is most beautiful about A Theory of Love is Thornton’s ability to make us feel deeply through setting.” —Ploughshares

“A contemplative and absorbing novel with hidden depth.” —Kirkus Reviews

© 2023 Ecco (Ebook): 9780062742728

Release date

Ebook: November 21, 2023