11. Jane Eyre and Rochester
In Charlotte Bronte’s famous tale, friendless characters find a cure for loneliness in each other’s company. Jane is an abused orphan employed as a governess to the charge of an abrasive, but very rich Edward Rochester. The improbable pair grow close as Rochester reveals a tender heart beneath his gruff exterior.
12. Layla and Majnun
A leading medieval poet of Iran, Nizami of Ganje is known especially for his romantic poem Layla and Majnun Inspired by an Arab legend, Layla and Majnun is a tragic tale about unattainable love. Layla and Qays fall in love while at school. Their love is observed and they are soon prevented from seeing one another. In misery, Qays banishes himself to the desert to live among and be consoled by animals. He neglects to eat and becomes emaciated. Due to his eccentric behavior, he becomes known as Majnun (madman). Upon death, they are buried side by side. The story is often interpreted as an allegory of the soul’s yearning to be united with the divine.
13. Eloise and Abelard
This is a story of a monk and a nun whose love letters became world famous. Around 1100, Peter Abelard went to Paris to study at the school of Notre Dame. Fulbert, the canon of Notre Dame, hired Abelard to tutor his niece, Heloise. Abelard and the scholarly Heloise fell deeply in love…
14. Pyramus and Thisbe
A very touching love story that is sure to move anyone who reads it is that of Pyramus and Thisbe. They both lived in neighboring homes and fell in love with each other as they grew up together. However, their parents were dead against them marrying each other…
15. Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy
Actually Jane Austen has personified two attributes of human nature, pride and prejudice in Darcy and Elizabeth.Darcy comes from a very high social hierarchy and Pemberley. Elizabeth is the second daughter of a gentleman of modest means. Mr. Bennett has five daughters and there has been no school education for them. Elizabeth’s very indulgent mother and irresponsible father never gave any thought to the future of the daughters. He falls in love with Elizabeth only to be refused by her initially, and then much later she realized that she can love no one but Darcy…
16. Salim and Anarkali
The love story of Salim and Anarkali is a story that every lover knows. The son of the great Mughal emperor Akbar, Salim, fell in love with an ordinary but beautiful courtesan Anarkali. He was mesmerized by her beauty and fell in love as soon as he saw her. But the emperor could not digest the fact that his son was in love with an ordinary courtesan… She is entombed alive in a brick wall right in front of her lover’s eyes.
17. Pocahontas and John Smith
This love story is a famous legend in the history of America. Pocahontas, an Indian Princess was the daughter of Powhatan. Pocahontas for the first time in her life saw Englishmen in May 1607. She found John Smith most attractive and developed a liking for him. Smith was taken to the official residence of Powhattan and he was tortured. It was Pocahontas who saved his life from the attack of the Indians. This incident helped Pocahontas and Smith to become friends with each other…
18. Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal
In 1612, a teenage girl, Arjumand Banu, married 15-year-old Shah Jahan, ruler of the Mughal Empire. Renamed Mumtaz Mahal, she bore Shah Jahan 14 children and became his favorite wife. After Mumtaz died in 1629, the grieving emperor resolved to create a fitting monument. It took 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants nearly 20 years to complete this monument – the Taj Mahal.
19. Marie and Pierre Curie
This is a story about partners in love and science. Unable to continue her studies in Poland because universities did not admit women, Maria Sklodowska Curie traveled to Paris in 1891 to attend the Sorbonne. The industrious student caught the eye of Pierre Curie, director one of the laboratories where Marie worked. Curie ardently wooed Marie and made several marriage proposals. They were finally married in 1895 and began their famous partnership…
20. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
This love story is about English royalty who mourned her husband’s death for 40 years. Victoria was a lively, cheerful girl, fond of drawing and painting. She ascended the throne of England in 1837 after the death of her uncle, King William IV. In 1840, she married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Victoria loved her husband deeply. She relied on his advice in matters of state, especially in diplomacy. When Albert died in 1861, Victoria was devastated…