The Greatest of these is Love: the Mostly Books Valentine's Day selection for 2015

This year's Valentine's Day selection is our typical mix of the traditional and the quirky (which you would expect from the team that offered up Potatoes and Zombies in 2013, and 'The Martian' in 2014).

Whether buying a gift for a special person - or treating yourself to a romantic read - love takes many forms, and can be found in all kinds of books. Enjoy.

The true romance of 'Pure Juliet' is how it came to be published. Stella Gibbons will always be the author that wrote 'Cold Comfort Farm', but she came to resent this book squatting on her reputation, overshadowing her achievements as a poet and the many other books she wrote. So when, in 2014, her family discovered this unpublished manuscript Vintage Classics took the opportunity to publish.

Written in the 1970s and 80s, it's a novel ahead of its time, with the character of Juliet definitely 'on a spectrum somewhere', obsessed with the maths and physics she excels at, but clumsy and baffled by the messiness and unpredictability of relationships and love. 'Pure Juliet' will be a joy to fans, told with wit, wry observation and sensitivity. It adds a welcome dimension to an author often described as our '20th century Jane Austen'.

Celia Imre might just make the transition from one of our best-loved actors to authors with her debut novel 'Not Quite Nice'. Bellevue-Sur-Mer sits on the French Riviera, just outside Nice.

When Theresa - sick of her spoilt daughter and equally obnoxious grandchildren - loses her job she heads off to the south of France to contemplate her future. Cue a Kate Fforde-esque tale of oddball characters, and plenty of twists and turns in the Sun. But what sets this apart is the pace and humour - a real joy to read.

Erotic poetry might make a few people do a double-take when viewed on the table of our family-friendly shop, but then Gaius Valerius Catullus wasn't your average erotic poet. His yearning, pining love poems track a doomed obsession during the tumultuous years of Rome in the first century BC, and as such are packed with tantalising glimpes of a different Rome than is found in other literary works of the period.

Mocked in his own lifetime, he boasts plenty of modern fans including Robert Harris, historians Dan Jones and Tom Holland, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) Boris Johnson (who, one suspects, has deployed a few stanzas over the years!). Their praise adorns the cover of 'Catullus' Bedspread' this fabulous book by debut author and classical scholar Daisy Dunn. It's part biography, part imagined travelogue and part analysis of his works. Original, accomplished and a lot of fun, this might be the perfect gift for anyone with an interest in Roman life - or the unchanging hopes and desires of the human heart over the millennia.

How about a romantic gift that does double-duty as an adorable picture book? As has happened to just about everyone in the shop, you will absolutely fall in love with 'I'll Never Let You Go' by author Smriti Prasadam-Halls and illustrator Alison Brown.

Beautiful illustrations and a sensitive story will quickly make this a firm favourite at bedtime - but also something to soothe any worry lines on little brows.

On the same lines, but in a lovingly-produced gift edition, 'Love...' by Emma Dodd is another beautifully produced book from one of our absolutely favourite publishers, Nosy Crow (who celebrate their fifth birthday this year).

Celebrating the love between parent and child, with delightful rhyming text - we have some exclusive, limited edition matching cards to give away with every book purchased to make this an extra special gift!

Last Summer, our Courtyard Garden was packed to listen to debut novelist Laura Barnett talk about her book 'The Versions of Us', a book that takes a what-if approach to the vagaries of the human heart.

And who hasn’t wondered ‘What if?’ about their own life? What if you’d taken a particular job, taken that path instead of this one, or that one chance – said ‘yes’ one time instead of ‘no’? 

The outcome of a chance meeting - or not - between Eva and Jim on a Cambridge path is followed in three alternative strands, which is constantly surprising and not at all what you might have expected. Thought-provoking and now out in paperback.

We reviewed 'Crooked Heart' by Lissa Evans on BBC Radio Oxford last week - a fun, brilliantly plotted, enjoyable and rollicking good story, told with dark humour, showing how different people, with different skills, can be thrown together and blossom in the confusion of war.

Click to read the full review here and you can also listen to Mark discussing the book with Alex Lester during the show.

'It's never too late to have a fling, for autumn is just as nice as spring ...' Christopher Matthew's latest collection of comic verse negotiates the perils and pitfalls of romance in later years in 'A Bus Pass Named Desire'.

Love is revealed in the most unlikely places, with the most improbable people seeking it. Whether in Dorking, Diss, Clapham Junction or West Wittering, there are amorous opportunities waiting to be seized at the bridge table, on the tennis court, in the herbaceous border, on a bicycle made for two, or simply in warm companionship.


Delightful and stirring tales of late-flowering love (and even mild debauchery in a retirement home, of which Catullus - see above - would be proud!) this is a celebration of life for the young at heart.

A Dozen Read Books for Valentine's Day

Whilst a dozen red roses might be lovely this Valentine's Day, we're going to give you a dozen read books (see what we did there?) as is now traditional at this time of year.

As I hope you'll expect, our picks for a lovely gift for your Valentine might be slightly on the quirky side, but as ever, come in for a hand-picked recommend for your loved one.

Apparently, we have Geoffrey Chaucer to thank for linking St Valentine to romantic love, so where better place to start than 'My True Love Gave To Me', a series of short (romantic) stories, all with a Winter theme, by authors including stalwart Young Adult writers such as Ally Carter, Holly Black and Rainbow Rowell. A favourite of Imogen's in the shop, this is highly appropriate given that Valentine's Day sees the launch of our YA Bookgroup.

2015 will see the BBC screening a remake of 1970s classic Cornish-set saga 'Poldark' (and we've learned that this Sunday evening the first trailers hit the TV) but until it's shown, the original Poldark novels by Winston Graham (beginning with 'Ross Poldark') have been reissued. They feature some rather spectacular covers, and although we would never suggest anyone is shallow enough to buy them for the covers, they do look rather good...

In terms of beautiful little gift books with a romantic theme, we love 'The Peanuts Guide to Love' (featuring everything from Woodstock falling in love with a worm to Charlie Brown's obsession with the Little Red-Headed Girl). But given that this year it's 150 years since the publication of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' come take a look at the little gem of a book that is the 'Little Folk's Edition', small, red and beautifully gilt-edged collector's edition.

Who knew more about the mysteries of the human heart than Jane Austen herself? In the wry, wise and witty 'The Jane Austen Rules : A Classic Guide to Modern Love' feminist and academic Sinead Murphy answers the question: what's a strong, independent-minded woman supposed to do in a world of insipid dating guides? Who has more time-tested secrets than Jane Austen, whose novels continue to captivate us—read after read—almost two hundred years later?

But for something a bit quirkier, how about the gift of happiness into someone's life? According to the UN, Denmark is the happiest county in the world, so when journalist Helen Russell moved to rural Jutland, she decided to try to discover just why the Danes are so happy. The result is ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ (which has to be our favourite book title of the year) and some of her findings may surprise you. However, Helen is convinced that we can all be a bit happier if we put a little Danish into our lives, and this book – amusingly, thoughtfully – shows you how.

There's been some great new fiction in the shop, and we'll always suggest good new fiction makes the best gift. 'Not Forgetting The Whale' by John Ironmonger is one of the most original, and wonderfully surprising new titles out in February.

When Joe Haak is rescued, naked. from the Cornish beach of St Piran, he is immediately adopted by the curious group of different people that call the fishing village their home. But what they don't know if that Joe fled London, having written a computer program Cassie, that has predicted the end of the world. But is the end of the world about to happen, and can Joe convince the people of St Piran to seal themselves off from the rest of the world? Warm, witty, endlessly surprising, this is already one one of our favourite books of the year.

And we get even quirkier with Stephen May's subversive and brilliantly fun 'Wake Up Happy Every Day'. Ever wondered what would happen if you did suddenly wake up one morning with everything you wanted? This happens to Nicky when his awesomely wealthy mate Russell drops dead, and Nicky takes the opportunity to step into his shoes. A fabulously unique take on the 'be careful what you wish for' story, told with verve, passion, anger...and cake?! Highly recommended...

Of course, a big dollop of cash would be nice, but most of us might have to turn elsewhere for a bit of happiness. We have a range of 'colouring for therapy' books in the shop at the moment, with our pick being 'Color Me Happy : 100 Coloring Templates That Will Make You Smile'. Come in and feel your stress reduce...

Actress Sheila Hancock is already a bestselling author. Her memoir of her late husband John Thaw, The Two of Us, was a number one bestseller. Nicki has loved 'Miss Carter's War', her first work of fiction and a bold storytelling sweep through the last century - through the end of the World Wars, the rise of the Labour Party, the Swinging Sixties, to the AIDS epidemic of the Eighties and the race towards a consumer society. It is all told through the life of Marguerite Carter, one of the first women to receive a degree from Cambridge. who has to be as adaptable to the century as she was brave working for SOE behind enemy lines in France and is a remarkable chronicle of our life and times.

If it's just a bit of pampering you want, look no further than the 'Neal's Yard Beauty Book'. This is a real revolution in home-made cosmetics and beauty products from the legendary Covent Garden-based alternative beauty company - and offers real, luxurious alternatives to the over-priced, chock-full-of-chemicals mainstream beauty industry.

Finally, is there a formula for love? Well, turns out there is and in 'The Formula : How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems ... and Create More" author Luke Dormehl reveals how algorithms are increasingly coming to dominate our lives, and what pleasures - and perils - await us in a world that seems increasingly to anticipate out every move.

The perfect give perhaps for a Don Tillman-out-of-the-Rosie Project character? Come in for more recommends!

Want more recommends? Take a look at our picks for last year and 2013!

Rocket parts and a cuckoo-clock heart - a dozen different reads for Valentine's Day

Ahh. Valentine's Day. It's easy to get a tad cynical as you spy shop windows full of helium-filled hearts, but it's also a marvellous excuse to buy a little gift for someone special.

We may be biased, but we think books hit the spot on that score. So just in case you are thinking of buying a gift for someone on Feb 14th, we’ve put together our usual list of quirky and off-the-wall suggestions.

‘The Boy With The Cuckoo Clock Heart’ is a wonderfully written gothic fairytale for adults by hugely talented French author (and singer) Mathias Malzieu. It tells the beautiful tale of Little Jack, born in Edinburgh on the coldest night the world has ever seen, with a frozen heart. To save him, a doctor replaces it with a cuckoo clock. Growing up, he is told neither to love or hate, for it would strain his ticking heart. But of course, he does fall in love, and that leads to a journey through the world to win the girl's affections.

Along the way, he meets all sorts of characters (including a girl with an eye that changes colour with the weather) and together they weave a fairy tale that makes you think of love, life and everything strange in between. It’s a lovely translation by Sarah Ardizzone – and is a lovingly-produced little hardback.

If you are looking for a genuinely feel-good fiction read, we heartily recommend ‘The Rosie Project’ by Graeme Simsion. It’s unashamedly sweet, clever and very funny.

Scientist Don thinks he can take a scientific approach to everything – from time management, calorie intake, work and exercise. He’s not so hot at the social skills, however, so he devises a ‘Wife Questionnaire’ he thinks will help him find the perfect partner. But when Rosie (who would answer all the wrong questions) seeks his help, he’s thrust into a chaotic and madcap world, from which he may never recover? And will he find the perfect wife? This has got to be the most fun rom-com of the year...

Mark thinks there's nothing more romantic than the stars. Well, let's be clear, what he means is 'space' - and this book, 'The Martian', published on 13th February, is already one of his favourite books of the year.

A life-threatening situation, a man stranded, a world watching agog as a high-stakes rescue mission looks to go horrible wrong. And most of the action takes place on Mars. Meticulously researched, and, yes, even a deep-space romance to boot, this is intelligent, accessible, exciting with possibly the most nail-biting lift-off ever written. The term 'tour-de-force' has become a cliché, but, honestly, we can't think of a better gift for anyone even vaguely interested on what it might be like to live on Mars with current technology.

If you yearn for some exotic travel slightly closer to home, and food is your idea of a romantic gift, we might as well declare that we are fans of the peculiar brand of British craziness and eccentricity which are ‘The Hairy Bikers’. They might have made a big splash with their dieting recently, but Dave Myers and Si King are still at their best on a good old-fashioned gastronomic road trip. And next week is the first in a six-part BBC series ‘Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure’. We are seriously impressed with the tie-in cookbook, which takes traditional recipes from Hong Kong food stalls to Japanese temples, often giving them a genuinely British spin. We particularly love the Korean ‘kimchi’ recipes, which are both fun and extremely ‘in’ at the moment – and we have the book at £3 off in the shop.

So far so good - fairy tales, romance, food and interplanetary space travel. How about poetry?

There are probably no more than a handful of poets who put poetry into everyday life as brilliantly as Pam Ayres. Clever, wistful, wry and very, very funny, Pam definitely seems to get better with age, and in 'You Made Me Late Again' Pam is tackling subjects as diverse as your son leaving home for university, becoming a gran for the first time - and even the terrible consequences of a night out trying to recapture your youth.

We think this might be a lovely gift for anyone who declares that 'they are really too old for all this Valentine's nonsense'...

If a star is romantic, how about a whole constellation, or even a galaxy? In '30-Second Astronomy' the fifty biggest and most baffling discoveries in astronomy are explained in 30 seconds. This is a great dip-into book that provides plenty of inspiration and the latest thinking on how the universe works. So - if you are looking for a gift for a stargazer, and the idea of 'Dark Energy' sounds exciting (oo-er), then this might be the perfect Valentine's gift...

Back to fiction next, and author Deborah Moggach has followed up her huge success with 'Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' with 'Heartbreak Hotel'. 

Here we have Buffy - surprised to find he is glad to be on the run from too much gentrification from his home in London - and surprised how easily he slips into the rural life. He hits on a wheeze to fill his dilapidated B&B rooms by running 'courses for divorces', but ends up acting as a lonely-hearts, agony aunt for people who think they may have got a little too old to ever find someone to share their bed. It’s difficult to think of anyone who does this sort of 'social comedy for the third age' better. Bill Nighy as Buffy anyone?

Rainbow Rowell's 'Fangirl' is the story of Cath, who has to move out when she and twin sister, Wren, go off to university. But Cath would rather sit in her room and write 'Simon Snow' fanfiction than make friends. Her roomate, Reagan, and the always smiling Levi, won't let that happen, however, and slowly Cath learns to open up and admit that love doesn't just happen in books.

It's another remarkable and instantly easy to relate to story from Rainbow Rowell, author of 'Eleanor & Park', and it's a book that shows magic isn't just found in the pages of a fantasy, and that the story never ends with the last page...

And finally, if you like a good dose of reality with your love stories, 'Mrs Hemingway' by Naomi Wood provides it in a rich dose.

Ernest Hemingway is a struggling poverty-stricken writer and when rich and glamorous Fife appears on the scene it's not difficult for her to position herself in his life. But if he's so easily lured away, will Fife be able to hold onto him? A beautifully realised, real-life story of the four extraordinary women who will learn what it means to love the most famous writer of his generation.

(It also, incidentally, has one of the finest opening paragraphs you will read - setting up the book perfectly).

So that's nine books for you - want another three to round it up to a dozen? Then take a peek at our reviews of 'Life After Life' by Kate Atkinson, 'The Goldfinch' by Donna Tartt, and 'Longbourn' by Jo Baker.

And a big hug from us of course!

What's wrong with Peace, Love and Potatoes? Ten picks for (quirky and different) Valentine's Day Reading

If, like us, you think a book would make the perfect Valentine’s Day gift, then check out our list of favourite slushy (and a few not-so-slushy) reads.

You can’t go wrong with poetry as a gift and how could you go wrong with a poet who can find inspiration in anything from a Dalek to a potato? ‘Peace, Love & Potatoes’ is by John Hegley, surely Britain’s favourite comic comedian and a true original. The grandmother's loving albeit critical appraisal of a young grandchild's drawings is a comedy classic, and of course we have very fond memories of when John performed in our garden a couple of years ago...

One of Nicki’s favourite uplifting reads has been ‘The Cleaner of Chartres’ by Salley Vickers, a contemporary story about a cleaner who arrives unexpectedly in a French town and the lives she touches.

Mild Agnes has a secret past and when she falls foul of the town’s worst gossip, the life she had fought so long to leave behind her starts to catch up. Themes such as faith and love produce a heartwarming story about good intentions gone wrong and second chances. A lovely indulgent read.

'Fish Change Direction in Cold Weather' by Pierre Szalowski is a feelgood read that one of our booksellers, Bailey, says she will read again and again.

When a young boy’s parents break up he looks to the skies to

help. That night a terrible ice storm occurs in Canada causing chaos as power fails and supplies become scarce. ‘Fish Change Direction in Cold Weather’ captures a community in times of trouble and tests the theory that we do not determine the path of our lives, it is the people that cross our paths that do.

If something a little more nostalgic is just the thing ‘The Misinterpretation of Tara Jupp’ by Eva Rice is a swinging tale of a naive vicar’s daughter who gets on the giddy path of stardom.

Set in fifties Britain, rock'n' roll is sweeping away the old, even in the depths of Cornwall where sisters Tara and Lucy live, part of a big family in a rambling parsonage. But when both girls are given a chance to try their luck in London will it be Tara with the voice or beautiful Lucy who have the world at their feet?  A fabulously nostalgic feelgood novel.

If you prefer lyrical writing to happy endings ‘Orkney’ by Amy Sackville is the love story about a literature professor who can’t quite believe he has captured the heart of his beautiful student. Set on their honeymoon, he can’t shake the feelings that he simply won’t be able to keep her.

A blend of storytelling that bleeds into fantasy it’s a small gift of a novel (and a beautiful cover too).

The true-life love story told in ‘Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets‘ by Jessica Fox is full of fun moments in this fish-out-of-water memoir about a 26-year-old Californian who craves a change of scene to mend a broken heart.

When she finds herself in a town of just 1000 people on the west coast of Scotland it’s a cue to revel in gorgeous scenery, old castles and fresh air where pool parties with bikini-clad actresses are about as likely as traffic jams and smog.

She surprises the locals with her jogging, dislike of BBC radio and her request for 'matzo meal' at the Co-op. Will she be able to survive the culture shock or the Wigtown version of a bikini wax? Will the locals survive her introducing a talent show into their local literary festival? Will she be able to make sense of her dour Scottish host? And will it just be the scenery she falls in love with? A dreamy tale of unexpected adventures in the unlikeliest of places.

John O’Farrell is a master of comic writing and in his latest ‘The Man Who Forgot His Wife’ he turns his attentions to romance.

Losing his memory is a great starting point for Vaughan to re-evaluate his life as he can’t remember any of it. What could have ended up as a series of run-of-the-mill vignettes about blokes and relationships is actually a very romantic read. It’s a tribute to John O’Farrell’s skills as one of our finest comic writers, pulling off a genuinely laugh-out-loud funny book that nevertheless has real emotional depth about issues of men, middle age, and how marriages need to be worked at.

Julia has an unusual Valentine's recommend this year - involving, er, zombies. 'Warm Bodies' by Isaac Marion was a word-of-mouth hit when published in 2011, and made it onto the big screen just last week. Obviously, you need to be up for reading about zombies in the first place (i.e. undead creatures roaming around, general mayhem, eating people, etc.) but this story takes that premise and gives it an almighty (and very endearing) twist that serves to emphasise the important things that make us human. I won't go into the gory details here, but when 'R' (a zombie) kills Perry (a human) he starts to develop feelings for a girl Perry loved called Julia, saves her from being eaten by his fellow zombies and things start to change...

And for another brilliantly original twist on the romance novel - this time for teens - take a look at 'Neptune's Tears' by Susan Waggoner. Shortlisted for this year's Romantic Novel of the Year - Young Adult Romance Novel (part of the RoNAs), this takes a cracking romantic tale, placed smack-bang in the middle of a 23rd century dystopian future. And it really works.

‘Angelmaker’ by Nick Harkaway doesn’t have many romantic moments, but as we said at the start, not everyone wants a slushy read for Valentine’s Day. It is, however, a cracking technothriller, jumping between our time and world war two, which plays with ideas of technology, time, consciousness and what it means to be human.

There's also a very nasty baddy who is attempting immortality - and a kick-ass, nonagenarian superspy called Edie who may have accidentally triggered a 1950s doomsday machine. It was one of Mark's favourites from 2012 - and it has a huge chunk of good old-fashioned romance woven into the frenetic and gripping denouement... 

And this year we are delighted to be offering once again our tie-in treat with Fabulous Flowers. If you spend £25 on books this Valentine’s Day we will present you with a simply divine, finest long-stemmed red rose to give to the person of your choosing.

As ever, if you want recommendations we would be delighted to help – send us an email if you’ll find it difficult to come in yourself – or send us a tweet - and we’ll do our very best to come up with a top read for you.

Spare me the happy endings

It’s more than I can resist to pass on the 200^th anniversary of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ without taking the opportunity for a list of ‘romances most likely to stand the test of time’.

The first one is easy, because EM Forster’s ‘A Room with a View’ has long been a favourite of mine, particularly romantic because of its glorious Italian setting and as it’s survived its first 100 years of being in print, I can’t see it being any less readable in the next 100 years.

On return from a tour of Italy, Lucy Honeychurch gets engaged to the divine Cecil – a handsome man with a strong social position who offers both elevation and education. But fate throws her back into the path of George, whom she first met in Italy – a young man less hung up on social convention.

George works on the railways and he once stole a passionate kiss from Lucy on a picnic in Italy – a kiss that reverberates throughout the book, because it’s set in 1908 and passionate kisses are strictly off-limits.

Lucy must choose between George, with his modern outlook and attitudes, and the traditional desirable husband material in Cecil. There are great scenes of Italy, plenty of comic characters and it is a great ‘looking backwards and looking forwards’ novel that epitomises the changes happening at the turn of last century. And, of course there is That Kiss. Ahh.

Another fantastically romantic story to stand the test of time is Graham Greene’s ‘The End of the Affair’, a tautly told tale of Maurice Bendrix, who by chance, encounters the former lover he never got over. His determination to find out why she broke off their affair becomes an obsession, even hiring a private detective.

Of course what he discovers is not at all what he expected but is very Greene-esque. The scenes that have stayed with me are not of the ones between Bendrix and his lover, but between Bendrix and his lover’s husband – the man Bendrix once felt triumphant over becomes the only man he feels comfortable spending time with as their share the fact of having both lost her. Gloriously tragic.

Further terrific heart-wrenching is to be found in another classic, Tolstoy’s ‘Anna Karenina’, where the lovers defy all social convention and with no hope of going back, sacrifice everything just to be together. Deeply romantic. But this is Russia – will Anna’s love for her dashing count be enough to withstand their exiled existence and impending war? Or will it all end horribly under a train?

If, like me, you think there is possibly nothing so romantic as a doomed romance with everyone sacrificing everything to be with the one you love then more recently there is Michael Ondaatje’s ‘The English Patient’. Probably perfect. Never has the deep love of two people led to such a chain reaction of disaster and death. I was traumatised for at least a week after reading it.

We can't forget ‘Wuthering Heights’ – we are all doomed to madness and death. Terrific stuff that has also withstood the test of time.

But it doesn’t all have to be deep tragedy to be lasting. Dodie Smith’s ‘I Capture the Castle’ is possibly best described as a bittersweet romance than a totally doomed one. It’s a fantastically fun tale of two impoverished sisters living in a dilapidated castle. When handsome, rich American heirs arrive the sisters make ridiculous mistakes trying to make a good impression and finding their feet with first romance.

The moment where one character has eloped with her man and throws open the window of the hotel and sings through pure joy is magical. But the one where a proposal of marriage is turned down because the man doesn’t love her in the wholehearted way she loves him is heartrending and show-stopping. Beautifully sad.

Daphne du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ also makes it onto my list. When a young paid companion is whisked away to the terribly glamorous world of Max de Winter her happiness is slowly but devastatingly undermined by the combination of his impossibly perfect first wife who died in tragic circumstance, and the fact that her memory is kept alive by the terrifying housekeeper, Mrs Danvers.

This is one of my favourite books – the way you are obligingly led to view everything in a certain way and the gradual realisation of what the story is really about, I found totally irresistible. One I just turned over and started again the moment I’d finished it.

I love all of Austen, probably because her heroines are all doomed to be architects of their own misfortune. Whether for your own amusement you help a young girl to be more marriageable only to find she’s about to steal the one you want for yourself, to accusing your beloved’s father of murdering his wife, her heroes all have to learn to love their heroines flaws and all. And such great flaws.

Almost the whole of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ appears to be about a doomed romance. It's edge-of-the-seat stuff because every time you read that book you are barely able to believe Darcy and Elizabeth will ever get together. 

The author sets up so many obstacles against their happiness – their dislike of each other, her awful family, his pride, her sister marrying his worst enemy, his role in destroying her sister’s happiness, his family’s stifling opposition against his marrying beneath him etc etc. It’s undoubtedly the eleventh-hour incredible turnaround of both character and circumstance that makes this such a popular and enduring story.

Is ‘Persuasion’ possibly even more romantic? Again, the social restrictions of the time that give this its poignancy and romance that are more difficult to recreate in a modern romance. When Captain Wentworth appears on the social scene, rich, heroic and successful there is flurry of womanly interest. But it breaks the heart of Anne, who followed her family’s advice years before and rejected his offer of marriage.

One of the most romantic scenes ever surely has to be where they are finally in the same room together and she is desperately trying to communicate that she still loves him, but they cannot talk, he can only sit in a corner and pour his heart out in a letter. Glorious stuff.You just wouldn’t get that today. 

If it is much easier to choose ‘romances most likely to stand the test of time’ from ones that have not only been in print for a good few years, but are set in times when there were far more reasons to keep the hero and heroine apart - where does that leave the romances of today?

Jefferey Eugenides ‘The Marriage Plot’ is a wonderful dissection of romance in the modern world. Set in the eighties its heroine is Madeleine, a scholar studying the romantic plots of classic English literature while also trying to navigate love in her own life. It’s not so much a romance as about the current state of romance. If choice is becoming limitless, then the biggest challenge is knowing what you want and finding the determination to stick with it.

And where does that leave romance where star-crossed lovers don’t suffer enormous hardship to be together, but can instead say; ‘I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you’ and find someone else with whom things might be a whole lot easier and simply start again? All those heroes in the past never chose the easy path.

How about John O’Farrell’s ‘The Man Who Forgot His Wife’, a modern and romantic story about a man who realises he’s already married to the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with – only it takes a catastrophic memory loss to realise it and then is in a race against time to stop his own divorce. A fantastic plot device to keep the hero and heroine apart. This one is also funny.

‘Bridget Jones Diary’ by Helen Fielding is worth a mention because it is credited with launching the whole genre of chick-lit with its modern, flawed heroine. 

It’s so of its time it’s quite possible to miss that it’s an extremely well done reworking of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, where Bridget’s pointed prejudice against the stuffy Mark Darcy leads her to believing every bad word his arch rival says against him, only to realise she’d been unutterably prejudiced and has ruined forever her chances of being with Mr Right.

I shall be interested to see what results from six authors commissioned to write updated version of Austen’s classics, the first of which will come out in the autumn. If we get another Bridget Jones out of it I will be happy.

You can’t really mention modern romantic fiction without Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight’.  Not a personal favourite, but definitely makes it to my list of ‘romances likely to stand the test of time’. Maybe not the whole 200 years.

Again, is it the doomed nature of the romance that keeps you reading? The enormous sacrifices that have to be made – not just by the couple themselves, but of their families and wider community in order to keep a couple so obviously meant to be together, in each other’s arms. This time overcoming the drawback of being of a different species.

John Green’s ‘The Fault in our Stars’ is the very latest romance climbing up the bestseller lists with his heartbreaking story of love among cancer patients. Maybe it's the doomed nature of the romance which makes me think this might be one that stays in print for a good long time.

Is it worth even trying to have a meaningful romance with someone who you know is going to die any day? Or is your romance simply doomed from the outset? Or is that what makes it just so romantic?

You’d think in producing a list of romantic books you’d end up with a list of slightly more uplifting reads, but there you go. Surprising also the number of books written by men. Praise their romantic souls.