The Anatomy of Melancholy

byRobert Burton, Angus Gowland (Edited by)
The Anatomy of Melancholy is the vast and only work by Robert Burton, the seventeenth-century English priest and scholar. It 'opens and cuts up' the condition of melancholy, or depression, as we know it today, and in doing so explores a dizzying range of additional topics, including goblins, beauty, the geography of America, digestion, the passions, alcohol and kissing. Burton believed that reading was a cure for melancholy, and so the book itself - one of the most unique and uncategorizable works of all time - can be seen as a tonic for the very condition it describes.
The best book ever written
Nick Lezard, Guardian

About Robert Burton

Details
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • ISBN: 9780141192284
  • Length: 1376 pages
  • Dimensions: 234mm x 53mm x 156mm
  • Weight: 1231g
  • Price: £25.00
All editions