The words Child and Machiavelli aren’t usually found in the same sentence, but Claudia Hart put them together. Inside are wonderfully old fashioned illustrations that accompany political advice such as You gotta be tough. People won’t really like you but they’re probably only your friends ‘cos they think they can get something off you anyway and People who cheat are always more successful than people who are always honest. Such advice isn’t part of typical parenting, at least not overtly, but I wonder how often similar messages are received during childhood.

Machiavelli isn’t a great resource for nurturing the spirits of the young and impressionable, in a typical form or this cheeky one. But that’s why it’s so gripping. I think it conveys a truth, this coming together of lessons in power and nursery illustrations:

Only the spiritually immature offer such advice, and only the spiritually stunted would waste a life putting it into practice.