After a string of terrible dates, one woman decided to look to the past for romantic inspiration. From the Georgians' direct approach to the Victorians' scented flowers, she spent six months applying old-school tips to her modern dating life.
Her journey began with a bad break-up, followed by a series of disappointing encounters: a Valentine's Day dumping, and a man who invited her for tea but meant sex in his office. Friends reported similar woes, with many either keeping one eye on the next swipe or settling out of fear of worse options.
She turned to history, reading about courtship in Jane Austen's Regency period, the Victorians' 'tussie mussies', and the 1950s American concept of 'going steady'. One key lesson came from Georgian lonely hearts ads in The Times, which were direct about what they sought: 'Lady, 24, of a forthright nature and considerable beauty, requires gentleman of a gallant disposition with 5,000 a year.'
Applying this, she began asking dates about their career and personal goals early on. Some wanted fun, others marriage and kids. 'Sure, I made it obvious I wasn't asking if they saw this with me, specifically,' she said, 'but something in the way they said it...'
While acknowledging the repressive gender roles of past eras, she found that being upfront about intentions helped cut through the modern dating mess. The experiment offered a fresh perspective on how to navigate today's swipe-based scene.
