If you personally know an author/writer DO NOT give their significant other this book for Christmas. With the exception of one or two it seems that writers cannot be (1) married, (2) monogamous or (3) happy, they do however derive great inspiration from the muse of disastrous love affairs. Touching on iconic writers from Agatha Christie and Lord Byron through to Hemmingway and Arthur Miller not one sheet is left unturned.

This book is broken into small chapters with whimsical titles like “All War, No Peace: Leo Tolstoy” and “Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know: Lord Byron”. The short chapters are a good idea for this type of book as it is not one that you plop yourself down and read in one sitting, it’s more of a sneak a peek when you have just a couple of minutes to read something.

An interesting read.
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Scandalous, indeed! Based on this book, it seems like most every writer in history had several affairs, unsavory sexual appetites, or some kind of mental instability (sometimes all of the above). Each foray into an author's romantic life is no longer than 6 or 7 pages, which is just enough to examine the debauchery they got up to. After a while, I began to wish for a happy ending. Luckily the authors heard my plea and relegated their last section of the book to the happier stories (even though most of them still involved divorce or some other scandal).

While I learned some new info about each of the writers, I found the writing to be mediocre and kind of repetitive; the addition of random quizzes like "Identify the Mistress!" left me rolling my eyes. Still, for what it was, I had some fun reading it. I will be passing this book along to be donated. ( )

I admit it. I love gossip. Was it Alice Roosevelt Longworth who said "If you don't have anything nice to say about someone, come sit by me?" That's my philosophy. I'm ashamed of it, but there it is. And this is absolutely delicious gossip about literary figures. Not necessarily all secrets or unknown, but great fun to read. Divided into seven sections, from "Folie a Deux" to "This Side of Paradise," Norman Mailer to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, great little stories of the love lives of some of our greater and lesser literary folk. Truly a fun read! ( )

This was a fun and entertaining read. Honestly most of this I have read and heard before but I did read a few tidbits I had not heard before. If you have ever wondered about the sceret life's of famous authors then you will enjoy this light read. ( )

What happens when you open the bedroom doors of some of the best known writers of this or any generation? To no ones surprise, loving, leaving, hating, and scandals are found. "Writers Between the Covers: The Scandalous Romantic Lives of Legendary Literary Casanovas, Coquettes, and Cads" by Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon, allows the reader to take a glimpse of the private (and sometimes not so private) lives of various authors, such as Arthur Miller (and his relationship with Marilyn Monroe), Agatha Christie (with a personal mystery of her own), and Charles Dickens (more of a scoundrel that you know). Most of the stories are, however, no secret, especially to anyone who enjoys reading about writers.

In the chapter headed, "Folie a Deux", we read about the sad decline into mental illness as experienced by Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and her horrific death. Not groundbreaking information but still interesting. The chapter "Bad Boys, Scoundrels, and Rogues" includes the often told stories of what a reckless womanizer Ernest Hemingway was. Nothing new there. Perhaps the best chapter is "This Side of Paradise" which includes true love stories: how Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas maintained a loving and respectful relationship (at a time when this type of relationship wasn't normally accepted) over many years and the wonderful love story of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in spite her father's edict that none of his children will ever marry. Love affairs such as these seem to be the exception, at least in this book. Other chapters include, "Unlucky in Love", "Your Cheating Heart", and "The Joy of Sex".

There are at least 25 authors represented in the main chapters with quick anecdotes (and a quiz or two) regarding a couple of dozen more. Anyone who loves to read will have heard of all of them, or nearly all. Most of the stories are heartbreaking, some are aggravating, and there a few that don't fall under the categories of the subtitle of the book. Essentially we learn that authors are just like the rest of us.

A quick read for those that love to read about writers and even those that don't. The 11-page 'notes' section indicates the amount of research done for the book and also may be why it still feels as though this has all been written about before. Perhaps you'll learn something new and see a favorite author in a different light. ( )