How to Woo, When, and to Whom

All you need is love? Not according to this essential guide to finding, wooing, and securing a suitable partner. Originally published in 1855, this brisk, no-nonsense handbook still has much to teach lovers and their suitors today. Love is a perilous business and the task of choosing a partner is compared to the perils of walking on thin ice. Reassuringly, the author guides the reader through the primary considerations of choice: age, health, tempter, fortune, morals, position in society, acquirements, and individualities. There is advice on the craft of writing love letters, how lovers should behave in public, and how to deal with rejection. Mixing direct instruction with short passages of borrowed verse, this book is full of sage guidance: ‘Both men and women vary greatly as to the age at which they arrive at maturity; marriage should never be undertaken before that age, and generally never after.’ Through all the advice, the institution of marriage shines and is credited with conferring a host of virtues: it sharpness men’s intellects, improves their morals, and ‘by a certain necessity’ enlarges their energy… This new, sumptuously designed edition will delight everyone with a sweetheart, and caution everyone without to choose wisely!