Rasselas

The plot is simple in the extreme. Rasselas, son of the King of Abyssinia, is shut up in a beautiful valley, "till the order of succession should call him to the throne." He grows weary of the factitious entertainments of the place, and after much brooding escapes with his sister Nekayah, her attendant Pekuah and his poet-friend Imlac. They are to see the world and search for happiness, but after some sojourn in Egypt, where they frequent various classes of society and undergo a few mild adventures, they perceive the futility of their search and abruptly return to Abyssinia.

Intriga este extrem de simpla. Rasselas, fiul regelui Abisiniei, este inchis intr-o frumoasa vale, „pana cand ordinea succesiunii ar trebui sa-l cheme la tron”. Se oboseste cu distractiile fictive ale locului si, dupa multa scufundare, scapa cu sora lui Nekayah, insotitoarea ei Pekuah si poetul-prieten Imlac.