"Steal"

Read "The Swan Thieves" / Elizabeth Kostova / 2010

Interesting information about Kostova's first novel, "The Historian" ...

Kostova finished the novel in January 2004 and sent it out to a potential literary agent in March.[6] Two months later and within two days of sending out her manuscript to publishers, Kostova was offered a deal—she refused it. The rights to the book were then auctioned off and Little, Brown and Company **bought it for US $2 million (US$30,000 is typical for a first novel from an unknown author. Publishers Weekly explained the high price as a bidding war between firms believing that they might have the next Da Vinci Code within their grasp. One vice-president and associate publisher said "Given the success of The Da Vinci Code, everybody around town knows how popular the combination of thriller and history can be and what a phenomenon it can become." Little, Brown, and Co. subsequently sold the rights in 28 countries. The book was published in the United States on June 14, 2005.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Kostova

Little, Brown and Company heavily promoted the book and it became the first debut novel to become number one on The New York Times bestseller list in its first week on sale. As of 2005, it was the fastest-selling hardback debut novel in U.S. history. In general, the novel received mixed reviews. While some praised the book's description of the setting, others criticized its structure and lack of tonal variety. Kostova received the 2006 Book Sense award for Best Adult Fiction and the 2005 Quill Award for Debut Author of the Year. Sony has bought the film rights and, as of 2007, was planning an adaptation.

In 2005, prior to its publication, Sony bought the film rights to the novel for $1.5 million, but has yet to go into production.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Historian

... but has yet to go into production.

Really?

Why not?

Everything is an information operation.

$2 million publishing rights + $1.5 million film rights = ELI5

About "The Swan Thieves" ...

The Swan Thieves is a 2010 novel by American author Elizabeth Kostova. The "old painter" described in the book before the first chapter is Alfred Sisley.[1] Beatrice de Clerval is not based on a single real artist, but Kostova was influenced in developing her life by the life of Berthe Morisot

Entertainment Weekly gave the book a "C" grade. The Washington Post said, "Kostova's new book, set partly in Washington, tells a rather simple story, and its characters, although they sometimes insist otherwise, don't change radically over time. (All are painters, and they're not much different, in interest or in outlook, from one another.)"

The Swan Thieves returned Kostova to The New York Times Best Seller list. In the United States, the novel debuted at number four on The New York Times Best Seller list of best-selling hardcover fiction and remained in the top 20 for over a month.In Canada, the novel debuted at number seven on The Globe and Mail's bestseller list.[8] The Swan Thieves was one of only 126 hardcover novels to sell over 100,000 copies in the United States in 2010, ultimately selling 118,218 copies within that calendar year.

The above is the entirety of the wiki article about The Swan Thieves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swan_Thieves

Of course, you'll have to read the novels to make any sense of this comment.

For those who "don't have the time" and want a "100 word summary" here is a compromise....

F Is For Fake / Orson Welles / 1 hr, 25 min
https://youtu.be/6htAu3WG4Qw?t=34

Can't wait for the comments from users who go find a 100 word summary and then opine...

Always good for a laugh... and sorts the wheat from the chaff with little to no thrashing...