2012 May

The inspiration behind Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, Wattles’ bestseller explains how to overcome the mental barriers holding us back from achieving success and shows how creativity, not competition, is the key to prosperity.

“Deprive the average human being of his life-lie, and you rob him of his happiness” is the central message of this classic play. The drama starts with the return of Gregers Werle to his father’s home where, fuelled by idealism, he sets out to reveal the secrets and lies that hold his family together with tragic results.

Sophocles’ vivid play takes place as Orestes returns from the Trojan War seeking to avenge his father who was murdered by his mother Clytemnestra. The resulting drama, told from the viewpoint of his mistreated sister Electra, is a powerful tale of joy, suffering and bloody revenge.

The US President’s distillation of Christianity slims down the Bible into a text free of miracles and mysticism where the core ethical message of Jesus takes centre stage.

The fundamental text of Taoism. Tao Te Ching’s mixture of philosophy and spirituality is a poetic and enchanting ancient guide to life that has hugely influenced other religions.

After a cultured childhood in Moscow, the Prozorov family moves to a small town to live a life that the family’s three sisters find offers little but boredom. Their dreams of returning to Moscow and the reality of their new provincial lives provides a backdrop through which Chekhov explores themes of loneliness, hope and the changing nature of Russian society at the start of the 20th century.

Huysmans’ shocking novel follows the experiences of Durtal, a frustrated writer who immerses himself in writing a sensational biography of a 15th century child murderer. As Durtal delves deeper into his unsettling subject he finds himself drawn into the occult underworld of 19th century Paris.

Having explored the nature of statecraft in The Prince, the foremost political philosopher of the Renaissance turned his attention to the battlefield offering his thoughts on the organization of the military and its relationship with society and state.

French libertarian Bastiat’s compelling and enduring political critique champions property rights and individual freedom while making a powerful argument against the use of government and law to rob people of those liberties.

A wonderful satire of the French aristocracy, Molière’s greatest play focuses on the misanthropic Alceste who firmly believes in being brutally honest. But while he is constantly irked by humanity’s hypocrisy he cannot be truthful with himself.