What happened off the page was often a lot spicier than what was written on it... Why did Norman Mailer stab his second wife at a party? Who was Edith Wharton's secret transatlantic lover? What motivated Anas Nin to become a bigamist? Writers Between the Covers rips the sheets off these and other real-life love stories of the literati-some with fairy tale endings and others that resulted in break-ups, breakdowns, and brawls. Among the writers laid bare are Agatha Christie, who sparked the largest-ever manhunt in England as her marriage fell apart; Arthur Miller, whose jaw-dropping pairing with Marilyn Monroe proved that opposites attract, at least initially; and T.S. Eliot, who slept in a deckchair on his disastrous honeymoon. From the best break-up letters to the stormiest love triangles to the boldest cougars and cradle-robbers, this fun and accessible volume-packed with lists, quizzes and in-depth exposs-reveals literary history's most titillating loves, lusts, and longings.

Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon have worked at Penguin, Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Hyperion. Rendon lives in London; Schmidt is a committed peripatetic, currently traveling the U.S. by RV.