Content Warning: The source material includes references to suicide, sexual assault, domestic violence, and incest.

Robert Greene is an author and business consultant who has written seven books on the strategies of war, power, seduction, manipulation, and psychology in the business world, relationships, and personal success. These include The Daily Laws, The Laws of Human Nature, Mastery, The 48 Laws of Power, The 33 Strategies of War, and The 50th Law.

A former journalist and screenwriter, Greene holds a bachelor’s degree in classical studies, which is reflected in his historical references in The Art of Seduction to figures like Cleopatra, Socrates, Sappho, and Ovid, stories from ancient China and Japan, and Greek mythology.

His focus on human psychology and behavior reflects his goal to explain the hidden aspects of the world to readers, particularly its dark side: “I think it would be good for people to be honest about human nature and about life and how people operate in the world. We have too many myths that make it very complicated for us. Something like envy...is a fact. All of us feel it” (Groth, Aimee. “Robert Greene Tells Us What People Don't Understand About Power.