Love Story

Eric Segal was a professor of ancient literature, teaching at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. He also wrote screenplays—for example, he was one of the writers of the Beatles’ "Yellow Submarine." In the 1960s he wrote the screenplay for "Love Story," rejected by several studios in a row until Paramount, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, finally took hold of it. Arthur Hiller’s film, starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal, saved the studio—and, after earning $200 million at the box office, became the first modern blockbuster. The film won five Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Screenplay (which it won one for). In addition, the producers advised Segal to adapt the screenplay into a book—so the novel "Love Story," released just a few months before the film premiere, became an incredible publishing phenomenon: it spent a year on the New York Times bestseller list, sold over 20 million copies, and was translated into 40 languages.

They met by chance in a library—Oliver Barrett IV, a future lawyer, a member of the Harvard hockey team, the son of a successful banker; and Jennifer Cavilleri, a student of the music department and the baker’s daughter. They met, talked, became acquainted, fell in love, and married (despite Oliver’s father’s protests)—and then they lived their lives. But life had a tragic surprise in store for them… “A seemingly simple story, as old as the world—yet that’s what makes it take hold of the heart” (Publishers Weekly).