A Famous Broken Heart

A whimsical journey into the realm of off-duty literary characters--and an ode to the power of reading

At twenty-four, Marina is at a crux in life. ＂I’m just at the age when time speeds up in an odd way. . . . The winters come closer together and you begin to accept that you’re not special anymore.＂ She’s cautious of her imaginative tendencies, unsure how she might make a difference in a world that feels increasingly big and small at the same time. At this uncertain precipice, nothing could come as a stranger surprise than waking up one sunny morning on a park bench in an entirely different world. Yet that’s where Marina finds herself: at a place called In The Beginning, populated by characters from literature waiting to be read--or, in some cases, written.

Although Marina is bewildered by her sudden and unexpected arrival in this bustling realm of overlapping possibilities, she soon learns that In The Beginning is facing an existential threat, and she is uniquely positioned to help. So begins her quest to find Pearl, the one person who may hold the key to saving everyone. Delving deeper into this unusual world in pursuit of answers, Marina’s journey leads her into the heart of herself and to a shocking truth.

Ann Druyan packs this compelling adventure story with characters both familiar and new, offering a profound testament to the cosmic powers of imagination and curiosity. First published in 1977, A Famous Broken Heart resounds with wit and wisdom that continue to connect with readers.

Ann Druyan is a writer, producer, and director whose credits include co-creating the motion picture Contact and the documentary series Cosmos (the PBS original as well as the 2014 and 2020 seasons on Fox), for which she was awarded the Emmy and Peabody Awards. She and her late husband, Carl Sagan, wrote the New York Times bestselling books Comet, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, and The Demon-Haunted World. She was the creative director of NASA’s Voyager Interstellar Message Project and has lectured at Harvard University, Cambridge University, CalTech, the National Cathedral, and many other institutions around the world.