Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia

BySamuel Johnson

Release Date: 1784-01-01
Genre: History

Score: 4.5

4.5

From 23 Ratings

Description

Rasselas, prince of Abyssinia (or Ethiopia), grows dissatisfied with the unceasing pleasures of his utopian home in the Happy Valley. According to Ethiopian tradition, the children of royalty were confined to an edenic valley, secluded from the harsh realities of the outside world. Rather than being seen as a paradise by Rasselas, Happy Valley is instead considered to be a prison, harboring boredom and tediousness. So, accompanied by his teacher, his sister, and her lady-in-waiting, Rasselas escapes his idyllic homeland to experience the outside world and search out the way of life most likely to lead to lasting happiness.

Reviews

The best psychology around
5
By ryannix123
Johnson had the human condition pegged some 258 years ago. There is no perfect sublunary existence for any of us, and dissatisfaction with some aspect of our life is the permanent condition of each and every human being. This outlook isn’t at all depressing. It’s actually consolatory to know that we are all dissatisfied with someone or something. I will try to get my own children to read this as young adults so they have reasonable expectations for life. E.g. marriage, finance, etc

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