4 h 14 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 4 h 14 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if paradise gives you everything except a reason to be happy?
Rasselas, a young prince of Abyssinia, has every comfort in the Happy Valley, yet grows restless among its amusements. He wants to know which way of life brings true contentment. With the poet Imlac, his curious sister Nekayah and her loyal attendant Pekuah, he leaves the hidden paradise to search beyond it.
Their journey takes them to Cairo, where Rasselas and Nekayah examine life as an experiment. They question rich and poor, hermits and courtiers, testing the hopes behind each choice. In Samuel Johnson’s short philosophical tale, conversation carries the adventure: how can anyone choose a satisfying life when imagination keeps promising happiness somewhere else?
What you’ll discover
- A restless prince Follow Rasselas as comfort turns to boredom and curiosity draws him beyond the valley.
- A poet’s plain truths Meet Imlac, whose travels and life story give the prince much to question.
- A sister’s searching eye Join Nekayah as she examines private and family life with sharp curiosity.
- The pull of hope Explore the mind’s habit of placing contentment in whatever lies just ahead.
- Wit beside hard questions Enjoy Johnson’s dry humour and humane good sense as each chosen life reveals its flaws.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you like short books that ask big questions, travel stories with sharp talk, and wise companions. It suits anyone who has chased a goal and wondered whether it would satisfy.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A prince has everything and wants something
- Hope drives the prince to plan an escape
- Imlac the poet tells how the world looks
- Out of the valley and into the first trials
- Courts, households, and the argument over marriage
- Loss, patience, and a mind that rules the sky
- Why happiness always seems to be somewhere else
- A tale told with irony, argument, and wit
Who’s who
- RasselasThe restless prince of Abyssinia who leaves a perfect valley to find which way of life brings true happiness.
- ImlacA poet and traveler who knows the world, warns the prince about it, and agrees to guide him.
- NekayahThe prince's sharp-minded sister, who joins the escape and studies private life while he studies courts.
- PekuahNekayah's devoted favorite, lively and fearful, who follows her mistress and learns about the stars.
- The AstronomerA generous scholar of the heavens who, after years alone, believes he controls the weather.
- The HermitA former soldier who chose solitude and now doubts it, ready to return to the world.
Formats and delivery
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- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Rasselas, principe d'Abissinia
by Samuel Johnson · 1759
A prince in a sealed valley of every pleasure aches to leave it, and a poet who knows the world warns him why.
Challenging2–5 hours to readItaliano
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpagnoloFranceseTedescoItalianoGiapponesePortogheseIngleseHow we measure levels
Excellent
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In short
What would you do if you had every pleasure you could name and still woke up restless? That is the trouble of Rasselas, fourth son of the Emperor of Abyssinia.
Rasselas, principe d'Abissinia in breve
- Tempo di lettura
- Circa 2 h 30 min2 h fast, 2 h 55 min slow
- Durata
- 35.500 parole
- Livello nella biblioteca
- Impegnativo long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- Prima pubblicazione
- 1759by Samuel Johnson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Quanto tempo ci vuole per leggere i classici · Aggiornato
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A prince has everything and wants something
Rasselas is shut away in the Happy Valley until his turn to rule arrives. Mountains ring it on every side. The only way in is a cavern closed by iron gates, and no one who passes through may come back.
Inside, nature has been gathered and its evils kept out. The sages teach the princes that the world beyond the mountains is a place of constant misery. Most of them believe it. Rasselas, in his twenty-sixth year, does not.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Hai guardato
Quale edizione fa per me
- 15-minute summary
- Le idee principali dell’intero libro in circa 14 minuti. Per un primo sguardo o per rinfrescare la memoria.
Dettagli
- First published
- 1759
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 2 h 45 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cita questa edizione
Johnson, Samuel. Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/rasselas-prince-of-abyssinia.
Johnson, S. (2026). Rasselas, prince of Abyssinia. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/rasselas-prince-of-abyssinia (Original work published 1759)
Johnson, Samuel. Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/rasselas-prince-of-abyssinia.
@book{johnson2026rasselas,
author = {Johnson, Samuel},
title = {Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/rasselas-prince-of-abyssinia},
note = {First published 1759}
}
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What is Rasselas about?
It follows an Abyssinian prince who flees a luxurious hidden valley with his sister Nekayah and the poet Imlac. They travel to Egypt to find which way of life brings true happiness, and test many of them.
What is the Happy Valley in Rasselas?
It is a closed valley in Amhara where the Abyssinian royal children live in comfort until they are called to rule. Mountains and iron gates enclose it, and everything pleasant is gathered inside while the world's evils are kept out.
Who is Imlac in Rasselas?
Imlac is a poet and scholar who traveled widely, returned home to disappointment, and then entered the valley. He becomes the prince's guide and speaks for experience, caution and the poet's wide view of nature and human life.
The author
Samuel Johnson
1709–1784 · English writer and lexicographer
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) was an English writer and lexicographer. He was born in Lichfield and moved to London in 1737, where he died. He published A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755, Rasselas in 1759, and his edition of Shakespeare’s plays, with its preface, in 1765.
More by Samuel Johnson
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