Romantic fiction has long been dismissed as trivial and denounced for peddling supposedly oppressive patriarchal myths of heterosexual love and marriage. Despite such criticism, the popularity of romantic fiction has only increased in recent decades. 

Drawing on research from the evolutionary sciences, Ania Grant proposes that narrative patterns of romantic stories and their enduring appeal reflect the importance of love as a fundamental human drive. She examines two of the most successful and critically scrutinized romantic narratives of the past 200 years, Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice and the hit television series Sex and the City, and argues that such texts simulate the cognitive and emotional complexities of mate choice—one of the most consequential decisions from both a biological and a cultural perspective. Her biocultural analysis aligns the interpretation of romantic fiction with the feminist ideals of female autonomy and gender equality. It also suggests that positive identification with romantic heroines gives audiences the hope and energy to pursue the transformation of gender relations in real life. 

The book will be of interest to anyone who ever wondered why so many women (and some men) around the world are enthralled by romantic stories. It will also appeal to anyone who has ever been inspired by romantic happy endings to strive for a world in which men and women love and cooperate with each other—even if it seems like a utopian ideal while the war of the sexes rages on.

Introduction.

Part One

1. Love: A fundamental human drive

2. Choice: From sexual selection to emotional intelligence

3. Romantic fiction: Tales of female mate choice

Part Two Introduction to Pride and Prejudice: “The lady has no choice?”

4. Lydia Bennet: “Tenderly flirting with at least six officers at once”

5. Charlotte Lucas: “I am not romantic ... I ask only a comfortable home”

6. Jane Bennet: “[Her] feelings, though fervent, were little displayed”

7. Elizabeth Bennet: “A union … to the advantage of both”

Part Three Introduction to Sex and the City: “Spoiled by choices?”

8. Samantha Jones: “I’m try-sexual, I’ll try anything once”

9. Charlotte York: “You fantasize about a man with a Park Avenue apartment and a nice stock portfolio”

10. Miranda Hobbes: “Soulmates only exist in the Hallmark aisle of Duane Reade Drugs”

11. Carrie Bradshaw: “Tell me I’m the one”

12. Mothers and others.

Conclusion.