Romantic happiness. You’d think finding it would be easier now than ever before, given all the options modern life allows us. Instead, it’s much harder—because there’s so much to figure out. And we feel such pressure to find someone perfect: soul mate, sexual dynamo, emotional stalwart, and best buddy all in one. And if we do beat the odds and manage to get into something steady, then a new batch of concerns arises—like how to go from a friendship-with-benefits to a full-fledged commitment, how to deal with his overbearing mother, or how to overcome problems in the sack.

In our quest to reach romantic nirvana, we turn to self-help manuals, daytime TV, magazines, talk shows, friends, relatives, and shrinks. But we’ve forgotten a far better source of wisdom: the timeless stories written by the great novelists. Jane Austen was around long before Oprah—and though ladies in tight-laced corsets didn’t have to deal with Internet profiles or speed dating, they can help us better understand why first impressions shouldn’t necessarily be lasting (Sense and Sensibility) and why sometimes it’s okay to date bad boys ( Jane Eyre).

Daunted by how hard it would be to mine books like those for the best nuggets? Don’t be. The authors of Much Ado About Loving have done it for you, combining expert dating advice with lit crit as they discuss classics of literature. You don’t have to be a bookworm to learn about love from great novels. Jack Murnighan and Maura Kelly have done the reading for you. Their take on life’s greatest love lessons from literature’s most memorable characters will enlighten you about all sorts of questions, like:

* Why shouldn’t a relationship develop too much online before it enters the realm of reality? Love in the Time of Cholera was published long before Match.com went online, but it demonstrates the dangers of getting your hopes too high before you meet.
* Is hanging out at bars your go-to move for meeting dates? Bright Lights, Big City shows why that’s no way to find a new relationship.
* Do you have a TMI problem? You should rein it in if you want romance to bloom—as Brothers Karamazov shows.
* Should you cross the political aisle for love? Howards End has the answer.
* Nobody who’s interested in you is ever good enough? Get over your intimacy issues with a look at The Bell Jar.
* Why do men talk so much, and why do women put up with it? Infinite Jest will tell you everything you need to know.

"I’ll take my advice from Toni Morrison over Suzanne Somers any day, even if it doesn’t come in bullet-point format, with a weight-loss chart. Wisdom rarely does. [Much Ado About Loving] is a clever mash-up of dating advice and literary discussion, with the authors alternating chapters and subjects...That’s probably the first time Virgil has been used for romantic advice, at least in this century - and that alone is an achievement. " --The New York Daily News

Jack Murnighan has a Ph.D. in medieval and renaissance literature from Duke University. His most recent book, Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literature’s 50 Greatest Hits, helped tens of thousands of readers rediscover their love of the classics. His two previous books, The Naughty Bits and Classic Nasty, were critically acclaimed tours of sexuality in the history of literature. He appears frequently on NPR and has had essays and short stories appear in eleven anthologies. He lives in New York City.

Maura Kelly has been a staff writer for Glamour, a daily dating blogger for Marie Claire and a relationships columnist for amNew York. Her personal essays, opinion pieces and reportage have appeared in literary anthologies and publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New York Observer, Salon, Slate, The Believer, The Guardian, More, The Boston Globe, Parade and Rolling Stone. She received her BA in psychology from Dartmouth College and her MFA in creative writing after studying at Hollins and George Mason.