Books: The Technique of the Love Affair

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Is there truly nothing new? This charming book, first published anonymously in 1928 by English writer Doris Langley Moore, is proof--if any were needed--that the man-catching strategy expounded by the 1996 best seller The Rules was old hat, and dumbed down at that. Written as a Socratic dialogue between wise Cypria and eager Saccharissa, Moore's handbook advises women to employ all the usual tricks: let the man make the moves, let him imagine he is smarter--and remember that, as Saccharissa says wistfully, "the thing which is against my own inclination is always the correct thing to do." Running footnotes and quips from Jane Austen and others (added to this edition by Norrie Epstein) provide unneeded heft to an amusing rediscovery. Happy Valentine's Day, all.

--By Elizabeth Gleick