What is The Idea of You about? Read the Harry Styles-inspired book

The new movie tells the story of a 40-year-old woman who begins a love affair with the lead singer of a pop band

The movie is based on Robinne Lee’s 2017 book of the same name (iStock/The Independent)

Harry Styles and One Direction fans, prepare yourselves: the trailer for Amazon Prime’s movie adaptation of Robinne Lee’s book The Idea of You has dropped.

The romcom stars Anne Hathaway as Solène Marchand, a 40-year-old divorced mother who has a chance encounter at Coachella with the 24-year-old lead singer of the pop boyband August Bloom, played by Bottoms and Purple Hearts’ Nicholas Galitzine.

Based on Lee’s 2017 fanfiction novel, the two embark on a whirlwind romance with the trailer showing the media’s fixation with their age-gap relationship (Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde, anyone?)

Of course, this isn’t the first time Harry Styles fanfiction has made it to the big screen (the less we say about the widely ridiculed After franchise the better). But with an Academy Awards-nominated actor at the helm, The Idea of You has a lot of hype around it (and not just from 1D fans).

From the full cast and release date to where you can buy the book the rom-com is based on, get caught up on everything you need to know about The Idea of You below.

‘The Idea of You’ by Robinne Lee, published by Penguin: £9.99, Amazon.co.uk

(Amazon)

Robinne Lee’s The Idea of You tells the story of 40-year-old divorcee Solène and 24-year-old Hayes, lead singer of the world-famous boyband August Bloom. When Solène’s ex-husband encourages her to take their daughter to Coachella, she has a chance encounter with Hayes that evolves into a heated love affair. Exploring an age-gap relationship, older female empowerment, stardom and the media, the book was a sleeper hit during the pandemic among romance novel fans and Harry Styles devotees.

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When is The Idea of You you streaming?

The Idea of You drops soon, with the movie adaptation landing on Amazon Prime on 2 May 2024. We’d recommend signing up to a Prime membership so that you can watch the moment it hits the platform.

Who is in the cast alongside Anne Hathaway?

Red, White & Royal Blue and Bottoms’ actor Nicholas Galitzine stars alongside Anne Hathaway as the romantic lead. The cast also includes Ella Rubin as Solène’s daughter, Reid Scott, Vikto White and Perry Mattfeld.

Is The Idea of You based on a true story?

No, The Idea of You isn’t based on a true story. Adapted from Robinne Lee’s 2017 novel of the same name, both the movie and book are a work of fiction.

Was Harry Styles the inspiration for Robinne Lee’s book?

When asked by Vogue in 2020 if Harry Styles inspired the book, Lee replied: “Inspired is a strong word”. But, she conceded that “the seed was planted” after she came across a video of One Direction and discovered that “he often dated older women”.

Admitting she might have a thing for British men named Harry, Lee also divulged that Prince Harry was part of her inspiration for Hayes: “I made him into my dream guy... like Prince Harry meets Harry.”

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Want more inspiration? Check out our round-up of must-read novels