On Love: A Box Set

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. 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". 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. 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.