Despite the title, Lord Schadt does not believe love is lost. Indeed, he closes his "Fore-words" with the assertion "Love is not lost." But it is certainly struggling to emerge amid the constraints of modern life. Lord Schadt's characters say nothing 'original.' They inhabit a world dictated by the convenience and conventions of cell phones, celebrities, films and brand names. Individuality seems largely lost, overwhelmed by the flood of media, of which we are reminded by the more than one thousand footnotes at the bottom of his pages. This is what begins to distinguish itself from the fray: the pervasiveness of the media and mass culture. Communication occurs only in the words and thoughts of others. (Matthew Alexander)