Currently trying to read up on the history of the Ancien Régime between 1500 and 1750/1800. Here are seven texts I have for the purpose:

Robert loved her so dearly that he developed work out of the mere anguish of their occasional distance.

Clara both performed and aided in the composition of Robert's works, with Robert reciprocally aiding Clara on her own work when he could

Everyone adores Arnold Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht, yet I seldom hear commentary on the poem that partly inspired it, Richard Dehmel's poem of the same name. Translated as "Transfigured Night," the poem concerns a man's acceptance of his lover's pregnancy—by another man.

Reminds me of this wonderful section from French philosopher Roland Barthes' book A Lover's Discourse

When a work of history begins with a tangential opening like this, I trust the author more. Good history is a narrative like any other, and often the greatest historians don't hide their literary sensibilities.