Cartwright tells the story of Schopenhauer's life to convey the full range of his philosophy, exploring Schopenhauer's fractured family life, his early formative influences, his critical loyalty to Kant, his personal interactions with Fichte and Goethe, his struggle to make his philosophy known, and his reaction to his late-arriving fame.

This is the first comprehensive biography of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) written in English.