The History of Rasselas
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Above all, Samuel Johnson’s Rasselas (1759) is concerned with the nature of happiness. Rasselas and his companions remove themselves from the pleasure of the ‘happy valley’ so that they can make their ‘choice of life’. In the course of their travels they come across scholars, astronomers, shepherds, hermits and poets, explore their way of life. Rasselas finds that complete happiness is elusive and, in the words of his mentor Imlac, ‘while you are making the choice of life, you neglect to live’.
In his treatment of this popular tale from the Orient, Johnson deploys his customary wit and perspicacity. Popular in its own day, Rasselas is a journey of the mind and soul, raising important questions concerning the human condition, which remain pertinent today.
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Peter Wickham was born in New Zealand and studied for the theatre at the Rose Bruford College in England. He has worked as an actor in the West End, and in theatres all over the UK and abroad, from Venezuela to Laos. He has performed in television and film, and has written a successful series of introductions to Shakespeare for the BBC World Service. He was a member of the BBC Radio Drama Company, where reading short stories and serials started his audiobook career. For Naxos AudioBooks, he has read Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy, Casanova’s The Story of My Life, Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man, Pascal’s Pensées and de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America.
