The Conquest of Happiness

In its very dated style this is a practical guide to not being miserable. Written long before Aaron Beck’s Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders (1975) introduced cognitive behavioural therapy, Russell’s book is firmly rooted in its time and class (he cites as examples the happiness of his gardener and his maid) but concentrates on individual responsibility, and therein lies the book’s strength and continuing relevance.

Its structure is (as it would be) eminently logical, starting with the causes of unhappiness, proceeding to the causes of happiness, and ending with “the happy man.” Russell does not so much discount women as relegate them to the status of …