Review
"As I've been told on more than one occasion, my expectation that a courtship will mimic a Victorian novel's plot might lean toward the unrealistic. But when seeking advice to bolster [my] love life...I shy away from current romantic self-help books... Enter
Much Ado About Loving, in which dating blogger Maura Kelly and sex columnist Jack Murnigan comb classic literature for love lessons." --
Elle"A treat for any book lover, happily mated or cheerfully single." --
USA Today"A clever, amusing hybrid of lit crit and relationship advice." --
Publisher's Weekly"Like a Cliff Notes for the lovelorn, as told by two authors who've 'been there.'
Much Ado is as sage as it is funny. " --
Lucinda Rosenfeld, "Friend or Foe" columnist at Slate and author of the novels, I'm So Happy for You and The Pretty One"I’ll take my advice from Toni Morrison over Suzanne Somers any day, even if it doesn’t come in bullet-point format, with a weight-loss chart. Wisdom rarely does. [
Much Ado About Loving] is a clever mash-up of dating advice and literary discussion, with the authors alternating chapters and subjects...That’s probably the first time Virgil has been used for romantic advice, at least in this century - and that alone is an achievement. " --
The New York Daily News
"I find reading novels to be more entertaining than reading advice columns, so why not combine the two? Dear Jane instead of Dear Abby." --
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer"In Much Ado About Loving: What Our Favorite Novels Can Teach You About Date Expectations, Not-So-Great Gatsbys and Love in the Time of Internet Personals, authors Kelly and Murnighan demonstrate that most literary classics contain great lessons about romance that are still relevant today... The authors take a magnifying glass to some of literature’s great and not-so-great hookups, injecting some of their own dating triumphs and faux pas, both relatable and comical." --
The New Jersey Monthly"
Much Ado About Loving… plumb[s] great literature for relationship advice."
— New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Jack Murnighan has a Ph.D. in medieval and renaissance literature from Duke University. His book,
Beowulf on the Beach helped tens of thousands of readers rediscover their love of the classics. His two previous books,
The Naughty Bits and
Classic Nasty, were critically acclaimed tours of sexuality in the history of literature. He lives in New York City.
Maura Kelly has been a staff writer for
Glamour, a daily dating blogger for
Marie Claire, and a relationships columnist for
amNew York. Her work has appeared in publications like
The New York Times,
The Washington Post,
More,
The Boston Globe, and
Rolling Stone. She received her BA in psychology from Dartmouth College and her MFA in creative writing. She lives in New York City.
