If you want to see how men and women have looked at love, and each other, over the centuries, just open this endlessly readable encyclopedia: an A-to-Z guide to the literature of love.

From Romeo and Juliet to Rebecca, nearly 300 entries treat scores of the most memorable novels and plays, providing information on authors, works, characters, and themes. Coverage is fair and square: Men and women get equal time; both literary and popular fiction are treated with respect; and minority voices are clearly heard.

Thoroughly illustrated, cross-referenced, and indexed, Classic Love and Romance Literature accomplishes what the best reference books always do: It sends you back to the originals.