Love Across the Atlantic

An interdisciplinary exploration of the enduring, and often fraught, cultural fascination surrounding British-American romance The first scholarly collection to consider the diverse ways in which US-UK romance, framed here through the lens of ‘the special relationship’, has been represented across key sites in a range of popular media Looks at both historical and contemporary case-studies drawn from across film, television, music, literature, news and politics from the last century Considers pressing questions of identity and desire for subjects impacted by globalisation, cosmopolitanism, transnational relations and neoliberal political and economic policies Winston Churchill famously described the political alliance between the US and UK as a ‘special relationship’, but throughout the cultural history of these two countries there have existed transatlantic ‘special relationships’ of another kind – affairs between British and American citizens who have fallen in love, with one another but often too with the idea(l) of that other place across the ocean. From romantic novelist Elinor Glyn in the 1920s to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle today, this collection examines some of the history, contemporary manifestations and enduring appeal of US-UK romance across popular culture. Looking at both historical and contemporary case-studies, drawn from across film, television, music, literature, news and politics, this is a timely intervention into the popular romantic discourse of US-UK relations, at a critical and transitional moment in the ongoing viability of the special relationship. Contributors Jay Bamber, independent scholar Caroline Bainbridge, University of Roehampton Barbara Jane Brickman, University of Alabama William Brown, University of Roehampton Shelley Cobb, University of Southampton Neil Ewen, University of Winchester Alice Guilluy, London Film Academy Hannah Hamad, Cardiff University Deborah Jermyn, University of Roehampton Veera Mäkelä, University of Helsinki Inmaculada Pérez-Casal, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela Karen Randell, Nottingham Trent University Manuela Ruiz, University of Zaragoza Martha Shearer, King's College London Frances Smith, University of Sussex Theodore Louis Trost, University of Alabama Alexis Weedon, University of Bedfordshire Nathalie Weidhase, Birmingham City University

Aesthetics · Appeal · Art · Identity (music) · Literature · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Romance · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Irish and British Studies · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Scottish History and National Identity

• Artistic genius’

  Júlia Havas, Anna Mártonfi•Celebrity Studies•2025

  Add to list