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How can the heart forget

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Book by Emilie Baker Loring

469 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

67 people are currently reading
67 people want to read

About the author

Emilie Loring

64 books130 followers
AKA Emilie Baker Loring
Emilie Baker was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1864 to George M. Baker and Emily Frances (Boles) Baker. Her father was a playwright and publisher and her mother was a homemaker. Loring married Victor J. Loring, who was a lawyer. She began writing in 1914, published her first novel in 1922 at the age of 56, and continued writing until her death after a long illness in 1951. She was a prolific American romance novelist of the 20th century, known for her "wholesome love" romances and independent, spirited heroines. Beyond romance, her books also explore a selection of topics including, but not limited to marriage, love, American patriotism, freedom, and optimism. She died in Wellesley, Massachusetts on March 13, 1951. At the time of her death, she had sold more than a million copies of her first thirty books.

After her death, her estate was managed by her sons, Selden M. and Robert M. Loring, who, based on a wealth of unfinished material they discovered, published twenty more books under her name until 1972. These books were ghost-written by Elinore Denniston. taken largely from wiki, made some corrections (dates didn't add up) per her biographer

Emilie Loring Wiki Page







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Community Reviews

5 stars
96 (37%)
4 stars
85 (33%)
3 stars
66 (25%)
2 stars
7 (2%)
1 star
3 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 18 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Hannah.
2,946 reviews1,438 followers
July 23, 2018
A quick and easy read with a heavy dash of mysterious goings-on related to the explosion in South America that ended Myles's career as an engineer. Ann is a strong heroine for the most part but has one episode of rank sentimentality that honestly did keep the story from being five stars for me. I am feeling a lot of enjoyment in these stories, despite seeing the ending coming a mile away, but that incident was just too much.

Content: a few swears
Profile Image for Joy.
1,409 reviews23 followers
January 17, 2016
I reread this book because I like the story of the injured engineer returning from foreign parts. Unfortunately, 36 years after the most recent read, I've become less tolerant of stupidity, and the way the main characters absolutely refuse to see anything outside their accepted mindsets is truly stupid.
Profile Image for Dorry Lou.
872 reviews
September 12, 2014
I have been a fan of Emilie Loring since high school days. I am surprised when I find her writings that I have not read. This book was good as usual. It was about Ann Jerome who had been in love with her sisters fiance for years. He had been away for a year and came home injured. Ann was so happy to see him but Sonia her sister had fallen for someone else during his absent. It was interesting to see how loyal Sonia was even tho' she did not love this guy anymore. Lots of lessons from Emilies books......I started reading this while in Va. and finished after coming home.
46 reviews2 followers
Read
December 2, 2009
My favorite romance/mystery author of my teenage years. Great light reading. I think there are 41 books at least! Thanks to Pam Nunes Greer and her collection, I think I read them all.
Profile Image for Madeline.
176 reviews
December 2, 2015
I love this book. It is one of my favorites of Emilie Loring. It is such a sweet romantic story and it isn't too stressful.
Profile Image for Eileen.
284 reviews
July 22, 2019
Stories where someone is in love with an engaged person always make me a little uncomfortable, but this one handled it pretty well.
1 review1 follower
November 26, 2011
As a teenager I loved Emille Loring's books. I read everyone of them.
Profile Image for Whoa!mance.
34 reviews17 followers
June 9, 2021
** spoiler alert ** We made a podcast episode about this one! You can check it out here if you’re interested: https://bit.ly/2RGn4sE

And here are the ep notes:
Category Is: Posthumously Published Triangular Caper
Answer: “How Can The Heart Forgot” by: Emilie Loring
Question: What if Nancy Drew never left the suburbs and was also in love with sister’s fiancee?
This week, Morgan and Isabeau kick off our “Category Is” series with plenty of zip and dash all the way from 1961.
How does it feel to find out you’re on a political treadmill next to Donna Reed? Does depth of story require depth of character? Does choice feminism still count if the choice is a wool suit or a ball gown? Who IS going to the Country Club dance?
Button that dress that sets off your eyes to the neck. The weather for this triple wedding is bitingly cold.
Profile Image for Kota Layland.
2 reviews
July 23, 2025

How Can the Heart Forget by Emilie Loring was a delightfully vintage escape. The story had a fun and eclectic energy that made it feel like a whimsical puzzle—sometimes a bit scattered, but always charming.

The plot bounced around quite a bit, and at times I found myself wondering where it was all going. That said, the unpredictability kind of added to the fun. It made for a great light read before bed—easy to pick up and get swept into without having to think too hard.

If you’re in the mood for something nostalgic, romantic, and a little quirky, this one might be worth a read.
Profile Image for Jeanne.
717 reviews40 followers
July 6, 2018
I started reading Emile Loring books when I picked up a paperback from a rack in a hotel lobby (for 50 cents) while on my sister's & my yearly vacation to visit my father. Hooked! I went on to purchase and read every Emilie Loring romance written and available in paperback, not knowing that she had died before I was even born. I loved these books, but read them when I was between about 12 and 18 years old. I was a young reader - do keep that in mind! :-)
801 reviews
July 15, 2020
Wonderful story

Wonderful story filled with mystery, drama, funny incidents and of course a love story with a path strewn with obstacles.
523 reviews2 followers
August 30, 2023
How can the Heart Forget

This book is a sweet and clean romance with plenty of tension and scrapes to keep the story interesting. I recommend this book.
Profile Image for Sophie.
845 reviews29 followers
November 23, 2020
Better than average for the ghost-written Loring books but suffers from many of the same problems. It reads like an original Loring short story that's been expanded into a full-length novel by someone else, which makes it uneven and occasionally confusing as it transitions between Loring's writing and the much-lower-quality ghost writing. I haven't read this one in years, but I don't think I ever noticed before how much it borrows from The Solitary Horseman. There were some passages that were straight lifted from Horseman as well as a rehash of the car-hanging-over-the-edge climactic scene. Overall, it wasn't terrible but not to be compared with Loring at her best.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Melanie Emry.
54 reviews
December 17, 2019
Emilie Loring at her best

One of my favorite of hers. The clues dropped through the story are subtle enough to make the obliviousness of the characters believable and yet obvious when you look back. The romance is good, too, with a real barrier between the protagonists to prevent either from revealing their feelings until the resolution. Good story.
Profile Image for Laurie D'ghent.
Author 5 books10 followers
June 20, 2016
Quite enjoyable, though the end was very predictable. Moderate swearing.
45 reviews
April 12, 2019
Wow, revolution in SA, mystery, intrigue

This book will keep you thinking about all the clues, only to find your thinking was wrong as another clue is revealed. Loved the ending!
Profile Image for Anna Wilson.
14 reviews
May 24, 2019
Sweet and predictable

A sweet and sometimes too syrupy read. I’ve enjoyed others by Emilee Loring much more, but it’s a good sweet read.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 19 reviews

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