The power of love can be wonderful, tragic, tightening or inspiring. This fascinating book tells the stories of affairs, marriages and passions that have all the sensation of epic fiction – yet were real stories that happened to real people.

The tales include Serest and Ruth Khama, the royal couple whose defiance of race taboos helped pave the way for democracy in Botswana, the true story behind the legend of Paris and Helen of Troy, the marriage of Emperor Shah jahan to his beloved Mumtaz and the glorious Taj Mahal memorial he built  for her, and the turbulent life of Margaret Mitchell, whose multiple romance formed the inspiration for her bestselling novel Gone with the wind.