A witty, thought-provoking celebration of why marriage still matters-and how to make yours work.

Taking anecdotes from history, the latest research, and insights about couples who stayed the course, writer and journalist Catherine Blyth offers an engaging tour of married life with entertaining advice on how to enjoy a successful marriage. She also shows how to deal with wandering eyes or in-laws who should be outlawed, and answers vital questions such as: Can housework improve sex life? Why should husbands argue? And why must wives relax?

In an age when skeptics like Elizabeth Gilbert and Lori Gottlieb urge us to "beware" or to "settle," The Art of Marriage offers heartfelt inspiration. Readers will learn why marriage still casts its spell, and how-with optimism and some tactics-it can be better than ever.

"Blyth writes for an audience curious for the perspective of Queen Victoria and Madonna, Charles Darwin and Rod Stewart, and this high-low mash-up is difficult to resist." — The Daily Beast

"Catherine Blyth puts a genteel spin on the adage 'marriage takes work.'" — Elle

"This is not so much a self-help guide for marriages in trouble as it is inspiration and assistance for those in relationships that are fairly healthy." — Library Journal