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RASSELAS is a provocative fable about "the choice of life." Bored by the endless contentment of "the happy valley" in which he has been brought up, Prince Rasselas escapes with his sister. The rove the world searching for the secret of happiness and striving to find the ideal way to live. Repeatedly the pleasures they glimpse dissolve on closer acquaintance, and the great men they admire prove to be flawed. Where, then, are happiness and purpose to be found?
These questions, of course, remain open for every generation; but perhaps no one has dicussed them with more wisdom and humanity than Dr. Samuel Johnson. RASSELAS is a searching and often darkly humorous commentary on the human condition as well as a classic of English prose.
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In Samuel Johnson’s classic philosophical tale, the prince and princess of Abissinia escape their confinement in the Happy Valley and conduct an ultimately unsuccessful search for a choice of life that leads to happiness. Johnson uses the conventions of the Oriental tale to depict a universal restlessness of desire. The excesses of Orientalism―its superfluous splendours, its despotic tyrannies, its riotous pleasures―cannot satisfy us. His tale challenges us by showing the problem of finding happiness to be insoluble while still dignifying our quest for fulfillment.
The appendices to this Broadview edition include reviews and biographies, selections from the sequel Dinarbas (1790), and the complete text of Elizabeth Pope Whately’s The Second Part of the History of Rasselas (1835). Selections from Johnson’s translation of the travel narrative A Voyage to Abyssinia, as well as his Oriental tales in the Rambler, are also included, along with another popular tale, Joseph Addison’s “The Vision of Mirzah,” and selections from Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters.
Dr Saumuel Johnson was born on 18 September 1709. He was one of England's greatest literary figures: a poet, essayist, biographer, lexicographer and often considered the finest critic of English Literature. Best known for his Dictionary (1755), Johnson also wrote essays for The Rambler (1750-1752) and The Idler (1758-1760). He achieved a feat of English criticism in Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1781). He died on 13 December 1784.
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- PublisherWordsworth Editions Ltd
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 1840224207
- ISBN 13 9781840224207
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages128
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History of Rasselas: Prince of Abyssinia
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Rasselas
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Book Description Condition: Good. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP21736137
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The History of Rasselas: History of Rasselas: Prince of Abyssinia (Wordsworth Classics)
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Used; Good. **Simply Brit** Shipped with Premium postal service within 24 hours from the UK with impressive delivery time. We have dispatched from our book depository; items of good condition to over ten million satisfied customers worldwide. We are committed to providing you with reliable and efficient service at all times. Seller Inventory # 1299501
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Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Good. Wordworth edition of Johnson's allegorical fable about happiness, written in a week to pay for his Mother's funeral. Some light shelfwear but contents crisp and clean. Good/very good overall. Seller Inventory # 000925
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