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"Shapely Ankle Preferr’d:
a history of the Lonely Hearts advertisement"
(Chatto & Windus, 2011)
“Wonderfully enjoyable” – Mail on Sunday
“Elegant, witty, wise” - Literary Review
“Fascinating… an absorbing and intelligent history of the pursuit of love.” - Sunday Times
“Blissful” – Stephen Fry
What do women look for in a man? And what do men look for in a woman? And how and why has this changed over the centuries?
Every week thousands of people advertise for love either in newspapers, magazines or online. But if you think this is a modern phenomenon, think again – the ads have been running for over three hundred years. In 1695, a popular London pamphlet published the brave plea of a young gentleman who “would willingly Match himself to some Good Young Gentlewoman, that has a Fortune of $3000 or thereabouts”.
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