Rasselas

The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson, 158 pages

Rasselas was raised, like all of the sons and daughters of the King of Abyssinia, in a mountain valley entirely closed to the outside world, aside from an annual royal visit.  Waited on by an army of servants and provided with every luxury, Rasselas nonetheless comes to feel dissatisfied with life.  Accompanied by his sister, Princess Nekayah, her servant Pekuah, and the sage Imlac, Rasselas manages to escape from his gilded cage and experience the wider world beyond, embarking on a quest for the secret of happiness.

Rasselas is a fable, and provides little in the way of drama or character.  A considerable amount of the work's not inconsiderable charm lies in the contrast between the eager naivete of the main characters and Johnson's own fundamentally pessimistic view of this life.