This month marks the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, and across the country and the world, Austen fans are promenading forth to mark the occasion with balls, tours, and fetes. There is no denying that Austen’s influence, even all these years later, is immense. But, on the surface, it’s hard to fathom why.

Austen’s novels present a world of rigid social etiquette and constraining courtship rituals that seem about as far from the modern dating scene as it’s possible to get. But maybe that’s the answer. Perhaps there’s something in an Austen romance that is actually more desirable than the dating apps and casual hookups of today.