A moving and compelling anthology of quiet yet powerful moments of everyday bliss, drawn not from grand literary works but from private letters, journals and poems.

From the bliss of lingering in a warm bed on a winter morning, to a bracing springtime walk by the seaside, A Private History of Happiness offers the reader a wealth of delightfully fresh perceptions of where and how happiness may be found. These 99 moments of happiness are arranged by theme – Morning, Friendship, Garden, Family, Leisure, Nature, Food and Drink, Well-being, Creativity, Love and Evening – and each is followed by a brief description and commentary that sets the extract in context and encourages further reflection. Drawing on a wide and international range of literary sources – from Ptolemy to Tolstoy – George Myerson reveals that small, unpretentious joys have been shared by human beings across cultures and over thousands of years. He invites us to discover the happiness in our own lives that can be found here and now.

"It seems a pity that we should need reminding of these pleasures; this charming book does so admirably" - TLS