Classified the lonely heart’s long road to respectability

Today friendship, even love, can be just one click away and there's a growing army of couples who met and married thanks to internet dating. From its dubious beginnings four centuries ago the personal column has become big business and an acceptable way of finding that perfect partner. Dr Harry Cocks, a lecturer in the School of History at The University of Nottingham, has just published a book telling the story of how we finally learned to love the personal ad. Classified — The Secret History of the Personal Column unearths the hidden history of the modern personal ad and the internet profile — from the 'lonely soldiers' of the First World War, to the single typists looking for love in the 1920s, through to the swingers of the 1960s and the social networking sites and chat rooms of the 21st century. Dr Cocks, whose main interest is in the social and cultural history of Britain since the 18th century, fell for the subject while musing over some long-neglected research. He said: "It struck me that the personal ad has come a long way. Once regarded as a slightly suspect way of finding the ideal partner, even as an admission of personal failure — it now seems to be an everyday fact of life".