The character of Meg RYAN being told “it’s easier to be killed by a terrorist than to find a husband over 40”, is one of the most memorable lines from Sleepless In Seattle.
‘This statistic is not true!’ she answers. “But it seems real,” jokes her friend, played by Rosie O’Donnell, in the hit movie that’s now three decades old.
Fortunately, quarantine is no longer the limit for love – but, for a long time to read a romantic comedy, you might think so.
The heroines were typically in their 20s and early 30s, early-career girls scouring the big city in search of Mr Right, as Bridget Jones freaked out among ‘smugly married’ at just 34.
But not more. Now, a series of novels featuring midlife heroines are filling the shelves – some of them even (gasp) divorced – as publishers increasingly recognize that falling in love isn’t just for those who start out in life, but get by in the middle (and beyond) too.
For a long time, heroines in romantic comedies were typically in their 20s and 30s, like Bridget Jones freaking out among “smugly married” at just 34, but now a series of novels featuring midlife heroines are filling the shelves.
A slew of recent bestsellers have helped: including word-of-mouth hit Confessions Of A Forty-Something F*** Up by Alexandra Potter, whose endearing heroine Nell isn’t where she expected this time of his life.
It sold a quarter of a million copies and spawned the Disney+ series Not Dead Yet which landed in the UK this month.
“I think ‘quarantine’ should be renamed ‘the best is yet to come’,” says author Alexandra.
“I’ve been writing hit romantic comedies for over 20 years, but where before the goal was always to find the man and fall in love, now that goal has changed and it’s about being older, to find yourself and fall in love with your life, whatever form that takes.
And she’s far from alone in finding romance in a different timeline.
American author Curtis Sittenfeld’s romantic comedy plays with genre conventions and features a late 1930s heroine who tells the rock star of the book that her job as a comedy writer has been the love of his life.
Sittenfeld said the overwhelming response to the book left her wondering what she would tackle next: “Could this be a romance for women in their 50s, 60s and 60s?”
Meanwhile, Marian Keyes, whose latest No. 1 bestseller is Again, Rachel, the sequel to her seminal Rachel’s Holiday, which revisits our now 40-year-old eponymous heroine, recently revealed that her next book is a “menopausal romance”. taking place in Ireland.
The word-of-mouth hit Confessions Of A Forty-Something F*** Up by Alexandra Potter, whose endearing heroine Nell is not where she expected at this point in her life, is one of bestsellers that helped drive change
It will focus on Anna, Rachel’s sister, “and a man she had an on-and-off relationship with for 22 years.”
Brilliantly raising the stakes, our heroine “can’t get HRT because the doctors in Ireland aren’t, how would you say, as generous with prescriptions as they are in the US”.
It also ties into a wider recognition in popular culture that romance doesn’t end at 30.
In recent film releases, Reese Witherspoon (47), Julia Roberts (55) and Jennifer Lopez (53) have returned to their roots as romantic comedy heroines; while off-screen J.Lo reunited with Ben Affleck for his own second-chance romance (a popular subgenre).
As Sara-Jade Virtue, Brand Development Director for Fiction at Simon & Schuster UK explains, fiction is just catching up with reality:
“The image of a middle-aged woman has gone from Nora Batty to Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, Halle Berry, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Michelle Obama and Monica Bellucci.
“More than ever before, we seek more fulfillment in life as we age – more freedoms, more choice, more sex.
Sara-Jade Virtue, brand development director for fiction at Simon & Schuster UK, believes fiction is only catching up with the reality that we fall in love later in life
“We fall in love later in life, over and over again. We’re not yet ready to hang up our boots and libido and call it a day. And we want novels that are about that experience – written by women who have experienced it too.
So whether you’re looking for your Mr Right (for quarantine) or just want to hear about a heroine who looks like you, you’ll be spoiled for choice this summer. Here is a selection of mid-beds to savor…
Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes has just been released in paperback
RACHEL RETURNS…WITHOUT LUKE
Rachel again by Marian Keyes (£9.99, Michael Joseph)
Newly released in paperback, this surprisingly moving sequel takes us back to Marian Keyes’ heroine Rachel Walsh at a time in her life when all seems well, even though former lover Luke Costello and his legendary pants in leather are no longer in the spotlight. the image.
But what really happened between them? Nowadays, the former couple cross paths again. . .
PENNY DROPS AN OLD LIFE AND TAKES FLIGHT
Take me to Paris by Helga Jensen (£8.99, Hera)
In this uplifting novel by a former flight attendant, Penny has just turned 50 and her job and relationship are going nowhere – so she signs up for a job as a cabin crew member. Adventures ensue, including a handsome pilot.
A read about finding your joy later in life.
Fly Me To Paris is an uplifting read from former flight attendant Helga Jensen
Mike Gayle is known for his ability to strike a chord
Betrayed Mom Shaken By Her Ex
A song of you and me by Mike Gayle (16.99, Hodder & Stoughton, out July 6)
Helen and Ben separated as teenagers; decades later, she’s a mother of two with an amorous rat husband – then comes Ben, now a world-famous rockstar (that’s right, another rockstar: no one ever said midlife romance meant dull realism).
This second-chance romance comes from the sure hands of Mike Gayle, known for his ability to rip out heartstrings.
IN SEARCH OF THE LOVE THAT NEVER DEAD
Thirty days in Paris by Véronique Henry (£14.99, Orion)
Juliette, the fifties, separated from her husband, leaves to find her first love. Add to that a hot French bookseller, and the best-selling author’s latest releases promise romance in spades.
But Veronica Henry says “it’s also about creating a new life at a certain age”. “My main characters are usually my age and grew up with me.”
In Thirty Days in Paris, Juliette, in her fifties separated from her husband, goes to meet her first love
NEVER TOO LATE TO START
Heroine Nell is back with her best friend Cricket, an octogenarian widow, and realizes that an ever-flowing life is pointless
No more confessions from a screwed up 40-year-old by Alexandra Potter (£16.99, Pan Macmillan, out August 17)
Our heroine Nell is back with her best friend Cricket, an octogenarian widow, and realizes that there’s no reason in life when things go right all the time.
Potter’s message is that “it’s never too late to start over, to keep growing and learning, to discover unexpected joys, to have fun, to fall in love and to go on adventures”. Read the first one and put it in your case.
SECOND CHANCES AFTER TRAGIC LOSS
PS Come to Italy by Nicky Pellegrino (£14.99, Orion)
With a touching backstory about life with a partner with dementia, this novel by the bestselling author sees a woman in her fifties, who loses her much older husband, find a second chance at life and love in Italy.
Woman in her 50s, who loses her much older husband, finds a second chance at life and love in Italy
