In honor of Valentine's Day, Jen does a deep dive into the history of modern courting and dating. Who would have thought department stores could have had so much to do with it?

Questions/Comments/Concerns/Recommendations? Email us at ragingromantics@nopl.org!

Books we recommend:

• Labor of Love by Moira Weigel
• Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni
• Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
• Inventing The It Girl by Dr. Hilary Hallett
• Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
• Agnes and the Hitman by Crusie
• Crazy for You by Crusie
• Faking It by Crusie
• Anyone but You by Crusie
• When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare

Indie bookstores we recommend in Syracuse!

• Parthenon Books
• Golden Bee Bookshop

Other episodes:

• #48 Let's Get Personal

Sources

• "Labor of Love by Moira Weigel review – how dating has changed" (Paskin, 2016)
• "The history of dating reveals how consumerism has hijacked courtship" (Barclay, 2019)
• "How the "First Date" Has Changed in Every Decade Through History" (Chatel, 2014)
• "Looking for love online? We chart the evolution of digital dating" (Khan, 2021)
• "Department Store" (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
• "The American Gift & Curse — Non Generational Millionaires are making the United States Poorer than the rest of the world" (Lopez, 2019)