Edward Brooke-Hitching is the author of The Madman’s Gallery, The Devil’s Atlas (2021), The Madman’s Library (2020), The Sky Atlas (2019), The Golden Atlas (2018), The Phantom Atlas (2016), and Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports (2015). A collector of curiosities and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Edward worked as a scriptwriter and factfinder for the hit BBC television series QI before leaving to write books full-time. He lives in a dusty heap of old paintings, maps and books in Berkshire with his labrador Annie Jump Canon.

'Edward Brooke-Hitching's delightful book is a collection of curiosities. From a 19th-century lonely hearts ad to a nuptial blessing of the bride’s buttocks, an entertaining history of love over the millennia that proves when it comes to the heart, little has changed.'

Edward Brooke-Hitching is the author of The Madman’s Gallery, The Devil’s Atlas (2021), The Madman’s Library (2020), The Sky Atlas (2019), The Golden Atlas (2018), The Phantom Atlas (2016), and Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports (2015). A collector of curiosities and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Edward worked as a scriptwriter and factfinder for the hit BBC television series QI before leaving to write books full-time. He lives in a dusty heap of old paintings, maps and books in Berkshire with his labrador Annie Jump Canon.

'Edward Brooke-Hitching's delightful book is a collection of curiosities. From a 19th-century lonely hearts ad to a nuptial blessing of the bride’s buttocks, an entertaining history of love over the millennia that proves when it comes to the heart, little has changed.'

Edward Brooke-Hitching is the author of The Madman’s Gallery, The Devil’s Atlas (2021), The Madman’s Library (2020), The Sky Atlas (2019), The Golden Atlas (2018), The Phantom Atlas (2016), and Fox Tossing, Octopus Wrestling and Other Forgotten Sports (2015). A collector of curiosities and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Edward worked as a scriptwriter and factfinder for the hit BBC television series QI before leaving to write books full-time. He lives in a dusty heap of old paintings, maps and books in Berkshire with his labrador Annie Jump Canon.

'Edward Brooke-Hitching's delightful book is a collection of curiosities. From a 19th-century lonely hearts ad to a nuptial blessing of the bride’s buttocks, an entertaining history of love over the millennia that proves when it comes to the heart, little has changed.'