In Edinburgh, a couple, Rabih and Kirsten, fall in love. They get married. They have children. Society tells us this is the end of the story. In fact, it is only the beginning.

From the author of Essays in Love comes the long-awaited and beguiling sequel, which charts the complex and intricate course of a long-term relationship.

We all know the headiness and excitement of love’s early days, but what can be expected over a shared lifetime? We follow our couple – Rabih and Kristen – from the first flush of infatuation through to inevitable disenchantments and then onto the freedom and insights of maturity. The Course of Love is a novel that explores not so much the start of love, as its maintenance over time; the way our ideals bend and reform under the pressures of an average existence, and the magnificent, sometimes frightening, developments we can make as we slowly realise that love is in essence a skill we need to learn rather than an enthusiasm we simply experience.

Playful, wise, and profoundly moving, The Course of Love is an unparalleled meditation on modern relationships —and a delightful return to the novel for Alain, more than 20 years after Essays in Love.

Alain de Botton was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1969 and now lives in London. He is a writer of essayistic books that have been described as a ‘philosophy of everyday life.’ He’s written on love, travel, architecture and literature. His books have been bestsellers in 30 countries.

Alain also started and helps to run a school in London called The School of Life, dedicated to a new vision of education. Alain’s latest book will be published in April 2016 and is titled The Course of Love.

Alain started writing at a young age. His first book, Essays in Love [titled On Love in the US], was published when he was twenty-three.