Book about the history of plot

I'm interested in reading more about narrative plots throughout the eras, maybe how they differ across places and times. This is somewhat inspired by a conversation I had with a friend about so many of our favorite books having happy endings that culminate in a marriage or some other fulfillment of the love story, and I'm interested in books that question that arc.

I think it's not quite what you're looking for, but I really enjoyed The Novel: A Biography by Michael Schmidt.

There’s also The seven basic plots, by Christopher Booker. I didn’t like it much, because I found Booker peculiarly irritating and repetitive, but it might be worth a look.

It's one of the Aspects of the Novel that E.M. Forster outlines. He explores plot's limits and necessity, with examples, but I don't recall if he presents it as a history.

>2 cpg: Thanks!

>3 thorold: Okay, good to know. Thank you!