The perfect anti-valentine: a whirlwind tour through love's most crushing moments

What's the best way to mend a broken heart? Forget ice cream, wine, and sappy movies. Journalist Meghan Laslocky advises: Read through the pain. From forbidden love in 12th century Paris to the art of crafting the perfect "I'm over you" mix, The Little Book of Heartbreak is a quirky exploration of all things lovelorn, including:

• How serial cheater Ernest Hemingway stole his wife's job just as their marriage was collapsing
• Kinky spells cast by lovesick men in ancient Greece
• Painter Oscar Kokoschka's attempt to get over an ex by creating (and having liaisons with!) her life-size replica
• Brooding crooner Morrissey's personal creed about how romantic love is useless
• The surprising science behind heartbreak and love addiction
• The connection between World War II and what you talk about with your therapist
• Insights into the tricky chemistry of monogamy and infidelity, courtesy of tiny rodents
• And other lessons learned from ill-fated romances, lovers' quarrels, and hell-hath-no-fury spats throughout the ages

Featuring anecdotes from history, literature, culture, art and music, The Little Book of Heartbreak shares the entertaining, empowering and occasionally absurd things that happen when love is on its last legs.