Product Description

Rasselas compresses everything that puts Dr Johnson among the great lions of English literature and life into this text

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #414407 in Books
• Published on: 1976-11-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

About the Author
J. P. Hardy is Professor of Humanities at Bond University, Queensland. He has edited many editions of Johnson's works, including Johnson's Lives of the Poets: A Selection (OPET, 1971)

Customer Reviews

A perfect introduction to Johnson and a delightful novel
I read this book primarily for one reason: it is by Samuel Johnson, and I wanted to look at some of his work. This 100 page novel seemed the ideal way to start. 'Rasselas' is a very moral work: every action, every turn the story takes serves to illustrate a point Johnson wishes to discuss, so the actual plot is secondary to the moral purpose. Yet the style with which Johnson writes prevents the book from being a dull philosophical tract. There are some very funny moments, such as the encounter with the astronomer, and thought provoking episodes, such as the story of the hermit who is delighted to abandon his principles and return to the city. In short,'The History of Rasselas' is a combination of exotic fable and timeless philosophizing, delivered in a way that remains as meaningful now as when it was written in 1759, with its central theme of a character in pursuit of happiness, and attempting to discover what happiness really is.