The Technique of the Love Affair [Hardcover]

Norrie Epstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 1999

This 1928 classic--playfully shocking and surprisingly practical--is now back in print, astutely annotated for the nineties. Originally published anonymously by the multitalented Doris Langley Moore (author of many books of nonfiction and fiction, and a much sought-after costume designer for film and theater), The Technique of the Love Affair is a masterfully written dialogue between the worldly "Cypria" and the naive and sentimental "Saccharissa" on how to conduct--with grace and restraint--successful love affairs.

        Moore outlines a pragmatic approach to sexual pursuit and conquest, peppering her advice with incisive comments on the nature of men and women--which (current self-help books notwithstanding) has remained virtually unchanged after seventy years.

        A sparkling period piece and a shrewd guidebook for those who consider pleasure a serious business, The Technique of the Love Affair is brimming with unassailable, timeless insight. Now, in this new premillenial edition, it is--more than ever--a wise and witty manual on the art of love for the thinking woman.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Technique of the Love Affair makes, I am bitterly afraid, considerable sense. If only it had been placed in my hands years ago, maybe I could have been successful instead of just successive."

--Dorothy Parker,
The New Yorker (1928)

From the Inside Flap

This 1928 classic--playfully shocking and surprisingly practical--is now back in print, astutely annotated for the nineties. Originally published anonymously by the multitalented Doris Langley Moore (author of many books of nonfiction and fiction, and a much sought-after costume designer for film and theater), The Technique of the Love Affair is a masterfully written dialogue between the worldly "Cypria" and the naive and sentimental "Saccharissa" on how to conduct--with grace and restraint--successful love affairs.

        Moore outlines a pragmatic approach to sexual pursuit and conquest, peppering her advice with incisive comments on the nature of men and women--which (current self-help books notwithstanding) has remained virtually unchanged after seventy years.

        A sparkling period piece and a shrewd guidebook for those who consider pleasure a serious business, The Technique of the Love Affair is brimming with unassailable, timeless insight. Now, in this new premillenial edition, it is--more than ever--a wise and witty manual on the art of love for the thinking woman.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 222 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; 1 edition (January 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679444025
• ISBN-13: 978-0679444022
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,280,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could be the most influential read of your year., May 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Technique of the Love Affair (Hardcover)

Once, I had a friend who had men falling all over her. Somehow, she knew how their brains were hard-wired. In fact, she would tell me, "do X, then Y, then Z, and he will call." And, (though he'd never called before), he called! For the past 10 years I've been trying to figure out what magic formula she used.

This book explains it. Of course, not all men are the same, and the book adds the disclaimer that the techniques suggested work on men with rather conventional views toward women. But, it adds, most men are rather similar in what attracts them. (After all, how many men do you know who wouldn't date Meg Ryan?)

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Completely, utterly, knowingly Brilliant, November 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Technique of the Love Affair (Hardcover)

The book that explains in entertaining, elegant detail the gameplan underlying your grandmother's advice on romance- and shows it was right on the money - Moore doesn't say why it works- she just explains how it works- and you instinctively know she's right- first because it all chimes with every woman's true experience, and secondly because its plainly obvious this woman is a master- even her prose is quietly seductive. I can't believe my luck in finding such a book- So unsentimental, so sensible, so absolutely right. Definitely for 'Rules' girls- but leaves the paltry inelegant modern equivilent in the dust- Moore makes the 'Rules' look just plain cheap.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for every single woman!!, April 18, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Technique of the Love Affair (Hardcover)

I wish that I could make this book required reading for every 16-year-old girl in the world; it might save her a lot of heartache! It's a valuable addition to the romantic arsenal of any woman, no matter what her age.

Doris Langley-Levy Moore was, and is, ahead of her time. Rather than losing herself in sappy sentimentality and wanton sensuality, she casts a very critical eye across the entire romantic battlefield. With a steady hand and experienced eye, she draws out a method of attack guaranteed to deliver results for the woman lucky enough to open this book's pages. But reader beware: the straight path isn't necessarily the easiest to follow. Many of the lessons Langley-Levy Moore teaches require a level of restraint virtually unheard of in today's instant-gratification society. Ah, but to the victor go the spoils...read on!