MISS LONELYHEARTS

a novel (1933) by the US writer Nathanael West . It was written during the Great Depression and is about human suffering. It is the story of a journalist who uses the name Miss Lonelyhearts as the writer of a newspaper column giving advice to readers with personal problems. When he becomes too involved with one of his readers, he is killed. The expression a lonely hearts column is sometimes used to mean a regular newspaper feature dealing with people’s personal problems.