The Pursuit of Happiness.

London, UK Constable and Company Ltd. , 1988. Hardcover First Edition [1988], so stated. First Edition [1988], so stated. Near Fine in Near Fine DJ: Both book and DJ show only minute indications of use. The Book shows barely discernible spine lean; several extremely faint, tiny spots at the top edge; the binding remains perfectly secure; the text clean. The DJ shows only the mildest rubbing; the price has not been clipped. Overall, very close to 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. Large 8vo. 200pp. Hardback with DJ. Peter Quennell has been fascinated by the subject of happiness since early childhood, when he first sought to understand its meaning, and to establish whether or not anyone ever actually attained it. Studying the lives and works of creative artists from the Old Stone Age to the present day, this book analyzes how individual men and women have been inspired by this universally shared human pursuit. Is happiness a natural human right, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau insisted, or is it, to borrow Samuel Johnson's formula, a transitory boon? In a profound, beautifully written meditation, Quennell shows that every age reinvents happiness in its own image: for the Romantics, contentment meant a voyage of self-discovery; to the Victorians, it was tied to the march of material progress; in modern times, an immense variety of marketable diversions competes for our attention. Melancholy dreamers like Turgenev, Baudelaire and Byron looked back to a happier, ideal past; in contrast, diarist Samuel Pepys proved that one can be relentlessly introspective but still find happiness by taking satisfaction in each day's events. Quennell, noted critic and biographer of Byron and Pope, reminds us that the road to happiness more often lies in quiet observation and enjoyment than in grand schemes or riches. Yet these graceful essays, to be savored slowly, are never didactic. The author's previous books include biographies of Byron and Alexander Pope and "Four Portraits".