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Welcome to the first of our daily series of videos adapting Robert Burton’s ‘famous’ 400 year old book The Anatomy Of Melancholy. It sounds like it might be a bit of a depressing listen but not at all. As Burton explains in this introductory episode, he writes about the subject in order to avoid becoming a victim of the subject and we hope the same applies to those who watch these videos.

As the series unfolds you will find that the book is engaging and diverting. There are unlikely stories, bizarre theories, fascinating history, beautiful writing and much excellent advice for those feeling a bit melancholy themselves.

In this introduction we learn why Burton has taken the pseudonym Democritus Junior and why he considers melancholy such a worthy and urgent subject to study.