15 Search Results for "advice"

Exasperated in Essex's mother-in-law is a hypochondriac! Is there anything she can do about it?

Exasperated in Essex's mother-in-law is a hypochondriac! Is there anything she can do about it?

Dear Erica, My mother-in-law is a total hypochondriac. She has a whole host of ailments that keep her in bed on a regular basis, and the doctors have not been able to find anything actually wrong with...

The 19th century Frenemy - Jane Austen's Lucy Steele found in Florida

The 19th century Frenemy - Jane Austen's Lucy Steele found in Florida

Dear Erica, I am a Freshman at FIU and I’m beginning to be suspicious of my roommate(let’s call her Nikki). I started dating a guy six months ago, and Nikki always manages to flirt with him when we go...

Auld Lang Syne - Should Nostalgic in New Orleans reconnect with her old boyfriend?

Auld Lang Syne - Should Nostalgic in New Orleans reconnect with her old boyfriend?

Dear Erica, I’ve been invited to a New Years party where I’ll be forced to see my old boyfriend. It was a pretty painful breakup but now, many years later, I am very happily married and I’ve heard tha...

Lousy luck when it comes to love?  What would George Eliot tell you to do about it?

Lousy luck when it comes to love? What would George Eliot tell you to do about it?

Dear Erica, My best friend always seems to have the worst luck in women. He’s funny, good-looking, a great guy overall, but still single. He always claims its bad luck but I wonder if he just chooses ...

Bridesmaid squabbles in New Orleans - What would Elizabeth Von Arnim advise?

Bridesmaid squabbles in New Orleans - What would Elizabeth Von Arnim advise?

Dear Erica, I am planning my best-friends Bachelorette party, and I’m getting more and more annoyed with one of the other bridesmaids. I’m the Maid of Honor, and I was the one who came up with the ide...

Can Jane Eyre give Tempted in Twickenham some advice as she ponders the dilemma of a married lover?

Can Jane Eyre give Tempted in Twickenham some advice as she ponders the dilemma of a married lover?

Dear Erica, I’ve fallen in love with this married man and I don’t know what to do. He and his wife are separated, but he has not sought a divorce because he fears a long complicated legal battle over ...

Ending an Engagement:  Break Slowly or Snap Suddenly?

Ending an Engagement: Break Slowly or Snap Suddenly?

Dear Erica, I’ve gotten engaged to my boyfriend of nearly five years, but after just a few short weeks, I’ve decided I can’t go through with it. How can I end it as nicely as possibly? Do I tell him I...

Dreading a visit from some old friends?   Heed Elizabeth von Arnim's wise words and you might just have a fabulous time!

Dreading a visit from some old friends? Heed Elizabeth von Arnim's wise words and you might just have a fabulous time!

Dear Erica, I’m having some old friends to stay next weekend, and although I adore them, I’m rather dreading it. I just don't want us to get on each other's nerves. Do you have any advice? Nervous in ...

Seventeen and never been kissed - What's the real problem according to Jane Austen's Emma and Clueless's Cher?

Seventeen and never been kissed - What's the real problem according to Jane Austen's Emma and Clueless's Cher?

Dear Erica, I am concerned about my younger cousin. She is seventeen years old, and has yet to be kissed! She is very pretty and smart, and I am unsure what the problem may be. My only clue is that wh...

Motherhood and Middlemarch: The trials of baby bathtime

Motherhood and Middlemarch: The trials of baby bathtime

Dear Erica, I just had a baby, and he is the most beautiful, adorable baby boy in the whole world(not biased at all of course!) My sister is now visiting and meeting him for the first time. Although I...

How do you get your boyfriend to propose?  Some tips from Ali Wong and Jane Austen.

How do you get your boyfriend to propose? Some tips from Ali Wong and Jane Austen.

Dear Erica, I’ve been with my boyfriend for 3 years now and I want to know how get him to propose. We’re definitely on the same page when it comes to long-term plans, but it just hasn’t translated int...

Why are we so good at giving advice, but so bad at applying it to our own lives?  As EM Forster explains Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice...

Why are we so good at giving advice, but so bad at applying it to our own lives? As EM Forster explains Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice...

Dear Erica Why is it so much easier to see what others should do in their love lives? My best friend is engaged to this banker who is totally wrong for her and I know she still loves her ex-boyfriend....

What advice do Somerset Maugham and Chris Rock have in common when it comes to relationships and marriage?

What advice do Somerset Maugham and Chris Rock have in common when it comes to relationships and marriage?

Dear Erica, I’m worried my best-friend’s marriage is unhappy. I know she was madly in love with her last boyfriend and they had a terrible breakup, and she married her husband very soon after so I alw...

Should you follow your college boyfriend if you're not sure it will work out?  What would George Eliot say?

Should you follow your college boyfriend if you're not sure it will work out? What would George Eliot say?

Dear Erica, My college boyfriend is moving to DC after graduation. I love him very much and am considering following him there. However, we are both very young and he is not ready to get married yet. ...

Why does revisiting our old haunts never feel quite right? What insights can Elizabeth Gaskell give us about the impact of change?

Why does revisiting our old haunts never feel quite right? What insights can Elizabeth Gaskell give us about the impact of change?

Dear Erica, I recently went back to my old home in Gloucestershire. My parents sold the house when I was in Uni, and I’ve not been back in nearly fifteen years but we were driving through and I decide...