The Romantic Movement Sex, Shopping, and the Novel

InThe Romantic Movement, Alain de Botton explores the progress of a love affair from first meeting to breaking up, intercut with musings on the nature of art of love. The relationship between Alice, an advertising executive, and Eric, a banker, is examined at every stage, supplemented by quizzes and line drawings by the author and commentary by a chorus of great philosophers, from Descartes to Plato to Aretha Franklin.The Romantic Movementwill charm readers and lovers alike with wit, insight, and intelligence. InThe Romantic Movement, Alain de Botton explores the progress of a love affair from first meeting to breaking up, intercut with musings on the nature of art and love. The relationship between Alice, an advertising executive, and Eric, a banker, is examined at every stage, supplemented by quizzes and line drawings by the author and commentary by a chorus of great philosophers, from Descartes to Plato to Aretha Franklin.The Romantic Movementwill charm readers and lovers alike with wit, insight, and intelligence. "The Romantic Movementsheds light on the nature of relationships . . . The method of telling much and showing little produces a good deal of wit, cogency, and humor."John Updike,The New Yorker "A reader gets whiffs of Donald Barthelme, Julian Barnes, Woody Allen, the films of Eric Rohmer . . . Mr. De Botton borrows exuberantly, and well, from his forebears . . . therein lies the buoyant charm of the approach."Lisa Zeidner,The New York Times Book Review

Alain de Botton was born in Switzerland in 1969, educated at Cambridge, and lives in London. He is the author of The Romantic Movement (Picador) and How Proust Can Change Your Life. His first novel, On Love, was published in fifteen countries, and was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Fiction.

"The Romantic Movement sheds light on the nature of relationships . . . The method of telling much and showing little produces a good deal of wit, cogency, and humor."--John Updike, The New Yorker

"A reader gets whiffs of Donald Barthelme, Julian Barnes, Woody Allen, the films of Eric Rohmer . . . Mr. de Botton borrows exuberantly, and well, from his forebears . . . therein lies the buoyant charm of the approach."--Lisa Zeidner, The New York Times Book Review