Our favourite love stories
Rory introduces our Valentine's reading list.
Upcoming events at Backstory
(all at 71 Balham High Road)
Wednesday 15th February, 7.30pm
Author of The New Life, one of the hottest debuts of 2023, about forbidden love in Victorian London
SOLD OUT David Nicholls
Wednesday 22nd February, 7.30pm
An evening with the bestselling author of One Day, Us & Sweet Sorrow
Music night: Ben Cipolla (almost sold out)
Saturday 25th February, Doors open 7pm
An evening of music with one of the UK’s most exciting up-and-coming jazz singer-songwriters
Wednesday 8th March, 7.30pm
The author of Maame, an exciting debut novel that sharply depicts Maddie’s sense of being torn between two worlds as she navigates flat shares, dating apps, microaggressions at work, the shock of grief, and learning how to become the woman she wants to be – one frantic Google search at a time.
Team pick of the week
Amy recommends: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Jude, a mortal girl, is raised in the fae world by her father’s murderer – a murder she watched happen. As she grows up, she is forced to learn how to survive, how to untangle the obfuscating riddles told by faeries who can’t lie, how to protect herself from enchantments, how to fight and plot and cheat.
Full of magic, intrigue, romance, betrayal and bloodshed, this book is perfect for those who like their female protagonists best when they are at their most vicious and conniving: If he thought I was bad, I would be worse. If he thought I was cruel, I would be horrifying. - Amy
Our bestsellers this week
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott
Milk Fed by Melissa Broder
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Empireland by Sathnam Sanghera
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
FEBRUARY HAS ONLY JUST begun, but we’re all beginning to think about the same thing. Love is on the page, as our window display shows in clear white and blue hand-writing, and we’ve certainly got the reading list for you.
We’ve selected our very favourite love stories for you, which are sitting proudly on our left-hand bookshelf when you enter our shop. These are stories of doomed love, unrequited love, familial love, and - because it’s painfully rare - something I’m dubbing happy-ending love.
I must confess that when Tom asked us all to choose a handful of our favourite love stories, I was at an embarrassing loss. I could only muster two. My reading history almost reads like a dossier of probable world-ending disasters and dystopias, none of which feature anything close to a steamy love affair. So, I went on a reading binge to rectify this, cramming three books I’d been recommended into a week. To my surprise, I really rather enjoyed it. I even persuaded Tom to bring Open Water with him on holiday, which he traded for copies of The New Life and Call Me By Your Name he insists I should read. It turns out working in a bookshop really is good for your reading. I’m pleased to say that my fellow Backstory teammates are far more proficient in love literature than me, and together I think we’ve assembled quite a handsome list!
I hope you find something that resonates. And once you have, why not stop by for some words & wine with a friend, a Valentine, or just you and your book?
Rory
Emma and Dexter’s love story is perfectly charted across 20 years. Denise
WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Charlotte Brontë
Is it or isn’t it a love story? Denise
Rachel struggles with an eating disorder, her Jewish identity, and the weight of an overbearing mother. Then, she meets a girl. Food and sex intertwine in this sharply funny story of a girl’s journey to self love. Rory
LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus
There’s a dog called Six-Thirty who knows hundreds of words. Oh, and a love story too! Tom
GARDEN SPELLS by Sarah Addison Allen
A heart-warming story about love, family, and magic. Amy
BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY by Helen Fielding
The original, and the best, 30-something singleton. Denise
CALL ME BY YOUR NAME by André Aciman
For anyone who has ever been driven mad with longing. That peach scene though… Tom
THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger
Combining romance and science fiction, can Henry and Clare’s marriage survive time travel? Denise
A group of radicals pioneer a new way to live, and love, in Victorian London. Meet Tom Crewe at our event on the 15th February. Tom
THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE by Sue Townsend
Perfect teenage unrequited love. Denise
THE LOST LETTERS OF WILLIAM WOOLF by Helen Cullen
Gorgeous story following William, a letter detective, on a quest of love, hope, and courage. Denise
THE SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller
A beautifully written and pacy retelling of the Iliad that tells the story of Achilles and his lover. This broke me. Rory
Dark. Victorian. Lesbian. Amy
OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA by Julia Armfield
It’s everything that’s unsaid in this deeply romantic story. It’s love, pain, miscommunication. Then, it’s really quite strange. Rory
E. M. Foster predicted this could never be published in his lifetime, not because it is about gay men, but because it is about gay men living happily ever after. Amy
THE TIGER’S WIFE by Tea Obreht
A beautiful, weird and wonderful journey through grief and familial love. Steph
AT SWIM, TWO BOYS by Jamie O’Neill
Ireland - and a teenage boy - come of age together, in the run-up to the Easter Rising. Tom
OPEN WATER by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Written with truly musical rhythm, Open Water is about a raw and ambient love blooming between two intimate best friends. Rory
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman
A childhood full of chaos and danger proves love really does conquer all - even flesh eating ghouls! Steph
THE BRONZE HORSEMAN by Paullina Simons
A life-changing story of overcoming the impossible in a fight for survival, peace, and love. Steph
The adorable, liberatingly warm and tender graphic novel about two boys falling in love. Rory
An oldie but a goodie, finding redemption and love in staying true to yourself. Steph
A classic Gothic romance. Beautiful and eerie. Amy
First love, millennial style. So sparsely written. Tom
NOTHING TO ENVY by Barbara Demick
In part a true love story between two people that just happens to unfold in North Korea. Sensational. Tom
Yay glad to see Heartstopper in the list! Ordinarily a relationship starting that young I’d be so sceptical and read with an imaginary cigarette hanging out my mouth saying “I give it a year...it’s all fun and games now but wait till you get to your twenties” etc but the thought of Nick and Charlie growing up and apart breaks my heart. So I picture them as two old men, still together 😭😍