Mental Floss columnist A.J. Jacobs has written a fascinating book called The Puzzler that will be released on April 26, 2022. The book is an exploration of the history, science, and joy of all kinds ...

The plot of An Ideal Husband isn’t as absurd as that of Oscar Wilde’s best-known play, The Importance of Being Earnest — there’s no mention, for instance, of a baby in a carpet bag — but it’s still a ...

Along with the Roman goddess of marriage, Juno, Valentine’s Day honors the Christian martyr St. Valentine. Persecuted by the Roman Emperor in A.D. 273, St. Valentine enjoys a legacy that has been ...

When the roots of modern-day polyamory, sexual freedom, and “free love” are discussed, they’re often traced back to the 1960s—the era of hippies, the movement for queer rights, and the “sexual ...

When people think of historical romance, the most common images conjured up are probably set in the Regency period. It’s the era of Jane Austen, empire-waist gowns, and bonnets everywhere. But there’s ...

Admittedly, I am at the center of the demographic most likely to enjoy a memoir about having a passionate attachment to a female Victorian novelist, but “The Victorian and the Romantic,” a new book by ...