Love and Marriage: 5 Books for Newlyweds

Possession, by A.S. Byatt
A book that tells the tale of overeducated academics uncovering a long-buried relationship between Victorian-era poets might not seem the most natural choice for newlyweds, but that relationship? Was hot as hell. In this time-shifting novel, A.S. Byatt tracks the discoveries of two modern-day scholars who stumble across evidence of the love affair, tantalizingly allowing us to experience the growing passions of lovers in both eras—including sexy love letters and exquisite poetry. In the end, this is a book about the lasting effects of passion and enduring love, with some of the most gorgeous falling-in-love I have ever seen. Any newlywed in the throes of honeymoon bliss will understand what one of the lovers means when they write to the other, “Did we not—did you not flame and I catch fire?… I thank God for you—if there must be a Dragon—that He was You.”

The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss
I read this book once, just before I started dating the man who is now my husband, but the delicate, surreal feel of it has stayed with me ever since. Krauss’s tale of love focuses on an old man and a book he wrote a lifetime ago. It showcases a love that lasts decades and spans countries and multiple versions of the past, with gorgeously realized prose in perfect accordance with that feeling of all-encompassing, overwhelming love we envy in newlyweds.

As You Like It, by William Shakespeare
This may be Shakespeare’s most eloquent consideration of deep, abiding love, the kind that threatens to shift personalities and change life stories. Rosalind is its strong-minded heroine, who runs away from her usurping uncle’s court to find adventure in the wide world, and unexpectedly finds herself able to spend time with her love-at-first-sight romantic interest…though, unfortunately, it’s while she’s dressed as a boy to protect her safety while traveling. Offered the opportunity to “coach” her love through wooing her, Rosalind acts out the the terrors and insecurities, the raptures and emotional roller coasters, that come along with the onset of irrevocable, this-is-it love—and she does it with the wit, intelligence, grace, and flaws to keep us rooting for her to gain the confidence to drop the mask and show her lover who she truly is.

The Diary of a Provincial Lady, by E.M. Delafield
For a female newlywed with a sense of humor, The Diary of a Provincial Lady could be the perfect gift. It’s a collection of humor columns, written in the 1930s, that are ostensibly the diaries of an Englishwoman living in the country, raising a family, and trying to keep up with the Jonses in a still-lingering world of British classism. The narrator is dry, witty, self-deprecating, often completely frazzled, and the deliverer of many a devastatingly accurate character observation. While many a modern household has, of course, moved on from the gendered roles that characterize this slice of 1930s domestic life, newlywed readers can be entertained both by how far we’ve come in our expectations of marriage, and by how much we really do care that that a slightly-more-successful neighbor only ever see us in our best dress.

The Convenient Marriage, by Georgette Heyer
Heyer’s farcical romances present the right mood for a newlywed still floating on cloud nine, and this is one of her most entertaining. It focuses on the consequences of the spirited young lady Horry’s determination, for the sake of her family’s Failing Finances, to be the Sacrifice and Undertake Marriage to the handsome, wealthy Lord Rule—a deceptively mild rake by reputation. It all falls out very much as one would think, as both principals realize there is more to marriage than convenience, heirs, and money. Populated by a cast of vivid secondary characters (Horatia’s brother is a highlight) and unending hijinks, The Convenient Marriage is not only an entertaining farce, but something newlyweds should appreciate: a surprising ode to marital loyalty and falling in love all over again, even after the wedding.
What books would you recommend for newlyweds?