Love in Excess

Love in Excess is the first novel published by the English writer Eliza Haywood, published in a series of three installments between 1719 and 1720. The novel describes the romantic adventures and misadventures of the handsome Frenchman, Count D’elmont, who inspires intense desire and infatuation in almost every woman he meets. This storyline allows Haywood to explore themes of class, desire, and obsession. Love in Excess was extremely popular and may have contributed to the overall rising popularity of the English novel. The success of the novel also helped to establish Haywood as a prolific and commercially successful writer who would go on to publish in a range of genres.

This guide uses the 2000 Broadview edition. This edition includes variant spellings of character names; the spellings have been standardized within the guide.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain references to death by suicide and sexual assault.

Plot Summary

Love in Excess begins in France, around 1714. A handsome young nobleman named Count D’elmont lives in Paris; a wealthy heiress named Alovisa falls in love with him. D’elmont is unaware of Alovisa’s feelings, and pursues a dalliance with a young woman named

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