There’s more to Stoicism than shrugging your shoulders and getting on with it, as Tom Hodgkinson discovers in this witty and enlightening book. Stoicism is an enduring and ancient philosophy that can help you with everything from love and politics to money and spirituality. The Stoics were celebrated by the Romans, they influenced Christianity and even Shakespeare admired them.

Today, both therapists and politicians will profess adherence to the Stoic creed. The “serenity prayer” is a Stoic statement. The Beatles’ “Let it Be” is a Stoic song.

Tom Hodgkinson, author of bestselling How to Be Idle, goes back to the original philosophical texts and looks at the greatest Stoics in history – including Seneca, Cicero, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius and St Augustine – to see if they can help us find fulfilment. He discovers that Stoicism is much stranger and more radical than you’d think. With witty reflections on everything from ethics, grammar, rhetoric, education, friendship and the importance of occasionally letting your hair down, Tom Hodgkinson shares his genuinely funny and brilliant guide to the Stoic life.