If you’re on BookTok, you’ve heard of Emily Henry.
Even if you’re not a member of the BookTok community, it’s hard to be a reader and not have heard about at least one of her books at this point. In the past four years, Henry has had five New York Times No. 1 best-sellers and currently has multiple film and TV show adaptions in the works. Her resounding success and almost yearly new releases make her a big name in the world of romance.
Despite Henry’s latest book, Funny Story, having only been released a few months ago, the author dropped a huge announcement regarding her new novel in early September. Henry’s newsletter, Emily’s Grocery List, teased an upcoming release and gave fans hints about both the title and plot. A few days later, the book, titled Great Big Beautiful Life, was officially announced on Instagram with a spring 2025 release date.
While the Instagram post may have ended the mystery about the title, fans have now doubled their efforts in trying to decode Henry’s hints in her newsletter, especially in regards to how Taylor Swift and folklore are involved. In an earlier newsletter, Henry wrote that Great Big Beautiful Life would feature a vacation, romance, complicated family relationships, and more. Based on that alone, Great Big Beautiful Life has all the ingredients to be an Emily Henry classic!
Fans have been especially focused on Henry’s statement that her new book will correlate to a song on Taylor Swift’s album folklore. Now, everyone is asking the big question: which song is it?
The second Henry’s newsletter dropped, and she confirmed folklore inspiration, leading internet sleuths to begin combing through her past posts for further easter eggs (another similarity to Swift). They’ve posted their two main theories online.
The first theory is that Great Big Beautiful Life is inspired by “the last great american dynasty.” Users on Reddit have theorized that Henry’s underlining of the word “great” in past posts was not only a clue about the title, but also the song. If her new book is like “the last great american dynasty,” readers may get a book about fame, town gossip, and love, with an old money aesthetic and eccentric characters.
However, not everyone is sold on the theory regarding “the last great american dynasty.” Others think that the book will be inspired by the famous folklore love triangle, which includes the songs “betty,” “august,” and “cardigan.” In case anyone needs a little recap, these three songs represent a love triangle written by Swift about original characters James, Betty, and Augustine.
In “betty,” we see James apologizing and asking for Betty’s forgiveness after cheating on her with Augustine, telling her that “it was just a summer thing,” and that she’s the one he truly loves. “august” is sung from Augustine’s perspective as she discusses the relationship between her and James, and the love she felt that was never reciprocated. The final song, “cardigan,” is sung from Betty’s perspective as she reflects on the affair years later. Swift has confirmed that, in her mind, James and Betty got back together, which adds a new layer to the song.
If the folklore trilogy is the inspiration behind Henry’s upcoming book, then readers can expect cheating, a love (maybe) triangle, and plenty of angst.
Any Emily Henry book inspired by a Taylor Swift song is an instant read for me, no matter the tropes involved. We’ll know more about the plot as spring gets closer, but I’m sure fans online will be dissecting more clues before then if you want to stay updated! Personally, I’m hoping that “the last great american dynasty” theory is true, but either way, I’ve already pre-ordered it!
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