Love Story (novel)

Last updated
Love Story (Erich Segal novel) cover.jpg
First edition cover
Author Erich Segal
Original titleLove Story
Country United States
Language English
Genre Romance novel
Publisher Harper & Row (USA), Hodder & Stoughton (UK)
Publication date
February 14, 1970
Media type Hardcover, paperback
Pages131
ISBN 0-340-12508-X
Followed by Oliver's Story (novel)  

Love Story is a 1970 novel by American writer Erich Segal. Segal wrote a screenplay that was subsequently approved for production by Paramount Pictures. Paramount requested that Segal adapt the story into a novel as part of the film's marketing campaign. The novel was released on February 14, 1970 (Valentine's Day), [1] along with segments of the story which appeared in The Ladies' Home Journal . [2] Love Story became the top-selling work of fiction for the duration of 1970 in the United States and was translated into more than 33 languages. [3] The novel stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 41 weeks, and peaked at number one. The film was released on December 16, 1970. [4]

Contents

In 1977, a sequel Oliver's Story, was published, [5] and made into a film in 1978.

Summary

Oliver Barrett IV, a jock and heir apparent to his father's business empire, is at Harvard preparing to take over the family business, while Jennifer (Jenny), the daughter of a Rhode Island baker, is a music major at Radcliffe College. Although divided by class, Oliver and Jenny are immediately attracted to each other and begin dating.

Upon graduation from college, the two marry against the wishes of Oliver's father, who promptly severs all ties with his son. Without financial support from Oliver's family, the couple struggles to pay Oliver's tuition at Harvard Law School. Jenny begins working as a private school teacher. After graduating third in his class, Oliver accepts a position at a respectable New York law firm. The couple move to New York City and decide to have a child. The couple has trouble conceiving and consult a medical specialist, who informs Oliver that Jenny has terminal leukemia.

Oliver attempts to live a normal life without telling Jenny of her condition. Jenny suspects something is wrong, confronts the doctor, and discovers the truth. Oliver seeks financial relief from his father, but lies about why he needs it. From her hospital bed, Jenny speaks with her father about funeral arrangements, and then asks for Oliver. She tells him to avoid blaming himself, and asks him to hold her tightly before she dies. When Oliver's father realizes that Jenny is ill and that his son borrowed the money for her, he immediately sets out for New York to reconcile with the couple. By the time he reaches the hospital, Jenny has died. Mr. Barrett apologizes to his son, who replies with something Jenny had once told him: "Love means never having to say you're sorry..." and breaks down in his arms.

Sources

New York magazine in 1971 stated that Jenny resembled the "myopic, athletic, brisk princess" Brenda Patimkin in Philip Roth's Goodbye, Columbus . [6]

It is sometimes said that Al Gore falsely claimed that the plot is based on his life at Harvard. In fact, Al Gore mentioned correctly, that he had read that the characters were based on him and his wife. In 1997, Segal confirmed Gore's account, explaining that he had been inaccurately quoted in the Nashville Tennessean and that "only the emotional family baggage of the romantic hero was inspired by a young Al Gore. But it was Gore's Harvard roommate, Tommy Lee Jones, who inspired the half of the character that was a sensitive stud, a macho athlete with the heart of a poet". Erich Segal had met both Jones and Gore at Harvard in 1968, when he was there on sabbatical. [7] Jones would go on to appear in a supporting role in the film adaptation of the novel.

David Johnston, who became Governor General of Canada from 2010 to 2017, was the basis for the character Davey, an ice hockey team captain. Johnston had been a Harvard Crimson varsity hockey captain and a friend and jogging partner of Segal. [8] [9] [10]

Reception

The novel was an instant commercial success, despite scathing reviews. It was nominated for a National Book Award, but it was withdrawn when the judges threatened to resign. William Styron, the head judge for fiction that year, called it "a banal book which simply doesn't qualify as literature" and suggested that even by being nominated it would have "demeaned" all the other novels under consideration. [11]

Influences

A number of Indian films were based on the novel:

In addition, Mujhse Dosti Karoge! , a 2002 Hindi film, mentions the novel a few times.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Love Story</i> (1970 film) 1970 romantic drama film written by Erich Segal

Love Story is a 1970 American romance film written by Erich Segal, who was also the author of the best-selling 1970 novel of the same name. It was produced by Howard G. Minsky, and directed by Arthur Hiller, starring Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley, Ray Milland and Tommy Lee Jones in his film debut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Lee Jones</span> American actor (born 1946)

Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor. He has received various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. D. Burman</span> Indian musician (1939–1994)

Rahul Dev Burman was an Indian music director and actor, who is considered the greatest and most successful music director of the Hindi Film Music Industry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films, bringing a new level of music ensemble with his compositions. Burman did his major work with legendary singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, and Kishore Kumar. He also worked extensively with lyricist Gulzar, with whom he has some of the most memorable numbers in his career. Nicknamed Pancham, he was the only son of the composer Sachin Dev Burman. R.D. Burman is regarded as the Father of Bollywood (Hindi) Film Music Revolution.

<i>Olivers Story</i> 1978 romantic drama film directed by John Korty

Oliver's Story is a 1978 American romantic drama film and a sequel to Love Story (1970) based on a novel by Erich Segal published a year earlier. It was directed by John Korty and again starred Ryan O'Neal, this time opposite Candice Bergen. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge and Francis Lai. It was released by Paramount Pictures on December 15, 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erich Segal</span> American author (1937–2010)

Erich Wolf Segal was an American author, screenwriter, educator, and classicist who wrote the bestselling novel Love Story (1970) and its hit film adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Tumulty</span> American journalist

Karen Tumulty is a political columnist for The Washington Post. Before joining the Post, Tumulty wrote for Time from October 1994 to April 2010. She was a Congressional Correspondent, as well as the National Political Correspondent based in Washington D.C. for the magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajshri Productions</span> Indian film production and distribution company

Rajshri Productions is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Mumbai, India, established in 1947, which is primarily involved in producing Hindi films. The most successful films produced by the company include Dosti (1964), Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se (1978), Nadiya Ke Paar (1982), Saaransh (1984), Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999), Vivah (2006) and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015). It has produced successful shows like Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki, Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli, and Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara.

<i>Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se</i> 1978 Indian drama film

Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se is a 1978 Indian Hindi-language drama film, starring Ranjeeta and Sachin and directed by Hiren Nag. It was produced and distributed by Rajshri Productions and showcased music by Ravindra Jain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iftekhar</span> Indian actor

Iftekhar Ahmed Sharif, often mononymously credited as Iftekhar or Iftikhar, was an Indian actor who mainly worked in Hindi cinema. He is known for his film roles as a police officer.

<i>Sanam Teri Kasam</i> (1982 film) 1982 film by Narendra Bedi

Sanam Teri Kasam is a 1982 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Narendra Bedi and produced by Barkha Roy, starring Kamal Haasan, Reena Roy, Kader Khan, Ranjeet, Jeevan.Movie's storyline is somewhat similar to Shammi Kapoor hit Tumsa nahin dekha. The film became a hit at the box office and was more successful in the big cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achala Sachdev</span> Indian actress (1920–2012)

Achala Sachdev was an Indian actress who appeared in classic films of Hindi language film industry, who started her career as a child actor. She later became known for mother and grandmother roles in Hindi films. Her most memorable roles were as Balraj Sahni's wife in Waqt (1965) and Kajol's grandmother in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995).

Fahim Ajani or Raju Shrestha [born 15 August 1966], initially credited as Master Raju or Master Rajoo, is an Indian film and television actor, who started his film career as a child actor, in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harshvardhan Rane</span> Indian actor

Harshavardhan Rane is an Indian actor, who mainly works in Telugu and Hindi films. Rane made his acting debut with the Telugu film Thakita Thakita (2010) and made his Hindi film debut with Sanam Teri Kasam (2016), receiving the Stardust Award for Superstar of Tomorrow – Male nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mawra Hocane</span> Pakistani actress (born 1992)

Mawra Hussain known professionally as Mawra Hocane is a Pakistani actress who primarily works in Urdu television. She made her acting debut in 2011 with Khichari Salsa. She made her Bollywood debut with romantic tragedy Sanam Teri Kasam (2016) and made her Pakistani film debut in 2018 with comedy drama Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2.

<i>Sanam Teri Kasam</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Vinay Sapru and Radhika Rao

Sanam Teri Kasam is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language romantic tragedy film written and directed by Radhika Rao-Vinay Sapru. Produced by Deepak Mukut, the film stars Harshvardhan Rane and Mawra Hocane in their Hindi film debut, with Anurag Sinha, Manish Chaudhari, Murli Sharma and Sudesh Berry. The film is a modern rendition of the legends of Shiva-Sati and the novel Love Story by Eric Segal.

Pyumori Mehta Ghosh is an Indian film and television actress. She has appeared in various Indian Television Serials and Full length Hindi Feature Films. In 2016 she appeared in the Hindi film Sanam Teri Kasam. Currently she is playing Rama Ramesh Bhalla in Shaurya Aur Anokhi Ki Kahani. She has also appeared in various television serials, including Kitani Mohabbat Hai, and regularly appears on Savdhaan India and Crime Patrol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radhika Rao</span> Indian film director

Radhika Rao is an Indian film director. Her feature film directorial debut was Lucky: No Time for Love (2005) with Vinay Sapru. Her next films were I Love NY (2015), Sanam Teri Kasam (2016) and Yaariyan 2 (2023). She also runs a film production company Rao & Sapru with her business partner Vinay Sapru.

Love Story or A Love Story may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravindra Jain</span> Indian composer, lyricist and playback singer

Ravindra Jain was an Indian music composer, lyricist and playback singer. He started his career in the early 1970s by composing for several hit movies. His notable works include Chor Machaye Shor (1974), Geet Gaata Chal (1975), Chitchor (1976) and Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se (1978), Nadiya Ke Paar (1982), Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985) and Vivah (2006). He composed music for many films and TV shows including Ramanand Sagar's epic Ramayan (1987), which became iconic. He was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India in 2015 for his contribution to arts.

Pandhari Juker, popularly known as Pandhari Dada was an Indian make-up artist, who worked in Hindi film industry.

References

  1. ↑ Erich Segal. Love Story. (Harper & Row) 1970.
  2. ↑ Segal, Erich (February 1970). "Love Story". Ladies' Home Journal. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Corporation. 87 (2). Ladies' Home JournalF [v87 #2, February 1970]
  3. ↑ "The Love Story Saga".
  4. ↑ "Love Story (1970)".
  5. ↑ Segal, Erich (1977). Oliver's Story (First ed.). New York: Harper & Row Publishers.
  6. ↑ Baumgold, Julie (1971-03-22). "The Persistence of the Jewish American Princess". New York. pp. 25–31.
  7. ↑ Henneberger, Melinda (14 December 1997). "Author of 'Love Story' Disputes a Gore Story". New York Times.
  8. ↑ Brennan, Richard J. (July 8, 2010), "Academic, athletic David Johnston next Gov. Gen.", Toronto Star, retrieved July 9, 2010
  9. ↑ Galloway, Gloria; Ibbitson, John (July 8, 2010), "Next governor-general unveiled", The Globe and Mail, retrieved July 10, 2010
  10. ↑ Aggerholm, Barbara; Kwawada, Karen (November 16, 2007), "No stranger to glare of politics", The Record, retrieved August 6, 2010
  11. ↑ Schudel, Matt (January 20, 2010). "'Love Story' author Erich Segal dies at 72". The Washington Post . Retrieved January 10, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.