What is beauty? Does it exist in the proportions of a perfect face or a graceful melody, or is it in the eye of the beholder? Why does someone find beauty in an object that leaves others unmoved?

The notion of beauty is elusive: we love and seek out the things we find beautiful, yet it seems impossible to describe their essence. John Armstrong takes us on a lucid and lyrical exploration of beauty's power, tracing the various ways in which we have interpreted its secrets through art, literature and philosophy. In doing so, he helps us to deepen our own responses to beauty, showing how it is intimately connected to the pursuit of happiness.