The History of Love is a novel written by American writer Nicole Krauss, and was first published by W.W. Norton & Company on May 2, 2005.
The novel revolves around the romantic life and loss of Leopold (Leo) Gursky over the course of sixty years. He is separated from his love, Alma, during the Nazi regime and when he is finally reunited with her, he learns that she has moved on. Despite the years apart, Leo does not progress with his life and instead remains in a state of limbo, still wishing for a chance to be reunited with his true love.
The book was extremely well received, and won the 2008 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for fiction. It was also a 2006 finalist for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Since its release, the book has been adapted into a movie (2016) directed by Radu Mihăileanu starring Derek Jacobi as Leo. However, the movie was a commercial failure. The book has strong references to literary authors, Isaac Babel, who is thought to have been the inspiration for Leo Gursky.
