The only work of fiction by the great Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), this masterful and neglected classic follows the struggles of a young prince, Rasselas, to find the secret of a happy life. Recommended by Howard Jacobson as one of BBC Radio 4's Open Book Neglected Classics, Rasselas was hugely regarded on both sides of the Atlantic in the 19th Century before falling into neglect.
Many great authors have their characters reading Rasselas, with the work featuring in:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte; Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell; The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne; Little Women by Louisa May Alcott; and Middlemarch by George Eliot
Described by Johnson as a philosophical romance, this masterful and hugely important work deals with happiness and the elusive quest to find it. This is a unique opportunity to listen to one of the greatest lost classics work of literature by a giant of the English language.
Download and start listening now!