Book Launch: Historical Heartthrobs by Kelly Murphy, with Vice’s Brian Moylan, comedians Sue Smith and Andy Ross, and Adult Swim writer Joe Garden

From the poetic tenderness of Lord Byron to the alluring confidence of Bessie Coleman, Historical Heartthrobs: 50 Timeless Crushes – from Cleopatra to Camus, by Kelly Murphy with Hallie Fryd features 50 hotties from the ages most likely to catch our eye and asks the question: Would you really want to date them?

From across the globe and through different eras, some heartthrobs featured in the book are artists, some are scientists, and many are political or military leaders, but all have had a hand in shaping the world into what it is today. Where would literature be without the intensity of Ernest Hemingway? How would civil rights look if the passionate Frederick Douglass hadn’t made his mark? Historical Heartthrobs describes the life stories and key contributions of this sampling of attractive and charismatic men and women in history. Page-length portraits accompany personal profiles, including vital stats, amusing sidebars, fun trivia, and quotes. Entries even come with a handy “heat factor” ranking the crush- worthiness of each heartthrob.

Pablo Picasso was a smoldering Spanish artist who broke the rules – but wasn’t one for commitment. Beautiful Egyptian ruler Cleopatra, on the other hand, followed her love to the end – perhaps too dramatically, as she committed suicide. Historical Heartthrobs tells all, profiling 50 famous figures and detailing what makes (or doesn’t make) them hot from our vantage point today. In a sweet blend of history, science, art, and, of course, romance, this book will inspire readers to discover new interests as well as help kindle their romantic imaginations. Readers can daydream about whether they would want to wine and dine any of these icons of history, or simply settle on admiring (or vilifying, perhaps, in the case of John Wilkes Booth) them from a distance!

Born and raised among the sprawling cornfields of rural Pennsylvania, Kelly Murphy now writes from her child-sized apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Her articles have appeared in Brokelyn, Brooklyn Based, Chic Today, NCTE’s The Council Chronicle, and various other publications. Kelly graduated from Penn State with a degree in English and currently works in publishing.

Brian Moylan is a writer for Vice and head of editorial content for dating site HowAboutWe.

Sue Smith is a comedic writer and performer who’s been featured on VH1’s “Best Week Ever,” Comedy Central, and xoJane.

Joe Garden is a writer and producer for Adult Swim Digital.

Andy Ross is a NYC-based comedian and storyteller.