The School of Life

The School of Life believes that literature has the power to transform lives. Each title in their Box Set collection contains essential classic and modern texts on a given theme. They're designed to be lifetime companions and guides. 

The Unquiet Grave by Cyril Connolly - A highly personal journal written by Cyril Connolly during the devastation of WWII, filled with reflective passages that deal with aging, the break-up of a long-term relationship, and the horrors of the war around him. 

Straw Dogs by John Gray - A radical work of philosophy that sets out to challenge our assumptions about what it means to be human. From Plato to Christianity, from the Enlightenment to Nietzsche and Marx, the Western tradition has been based on arrogant and erroneous beliefs about human beings and their place in the world. 

Collected Maxims by La Rochefoucauld - Deceptively brief and easy to read, La Rochefoucauld's shrewd, unflattering analyses of human behavior have influenced writers, thinkers, and public figures as various as Voltaire, Proust, de Gaulle, Nietzsche, and Conan Doyle. 

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - These meditations offer a remarkable series of challenging spiritual reflections and exercises developed as the emperor struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe. While the Meditations were composed to provide personal consolation and encouragement, Marcus Aurelius also created one of the greatest of all works of philosophy: a timeless collection that has been consulted and admired throughout the centuries. 

• COLLECTABLE BOXED SET OF HARDBACK EDITIONS
• INCLUDES FOUR CLASSIC MODERN TEXTS: The Unquiet Grave by Cyril Connolly, Straw Dogs by John Gray, Collected Maxims by La Rochefoucauld and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. 
• DESIGNED TO BE LIFETIME COMPANIONS

Essays in Love by Alain de Botton charts the progress of a love affair from the first kiss to argument and reconciliation, from intimacy and tenderness to the onset of anxiety and heartbreak. 

A Lover's Discourse by Roland Barthes examines the language we use when we are in love, arguing that it is not a language we speak. It is a language addressed to ourselves and to our imaginary beloved. It is a language of solitude, of mythology, of what Barthes calls an "image repertoire". 

On Love by Stendhal is a profound attempt to rationalize that most complex of emotions - romantic love. Inspired by unrequited passion, he brings together logical, clear-sighted analysis with all-consuming emotion, to most remarkable effect. The result is an astonishing work that bears all the hallmarks of Stendhal's later masterpieces. 

Conditions of Love by John Armstrong explores how our perception of love is formed by culture and history by drawing on writers such as Plato, Tolstoy and Freud. 

• TIMELESS WISDOM ON LOVE from acclaimed philosophers throughout the ages. 
• COLLECTABLE BOX SET of deluxe hardcover editions.
• ESSENTIAL CLASSIC AND MODERN TEXTS curated by The School of Life. 
• AWARD-WINNING DESIGN Winner of a Design and Art Direction award: Wood Pencil/Book/Design/Specialist & Limited Edition Books 2016.