By writing what he called a "secret book" - taking the shape of a conversation between himself and St Augustine - Petrarch aimed to compose a cathartic text which would alleviate his spiritual crisis and help him make further inroads towards knowledge and fulfilment.

At once an intimate repository of his most personal thoughts and emotions and a literary masterpiece dealing with universal issues, Secretum - Petrarch's best-known work in Latin - is a fascinating and pioneering example of the autobiographical genre.