The Life of Samuel Johnson is a nonfiction book written by James Boswell. Released in 1791, it details Johnson's life and friendship with its author.
Notable people within[]
- Samuel Johnson
- James Boswell
- David Garrick
- Oliver Goldsmith
- Frances Burney
- Edmund Burke
rest to be added
Publisher's summary[]
In Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson , one of the towering figures of English literature is revealed with unparalleled immediacy and originality, in a biography to which we owe much of our knowledge of the man himself. Through a series of richly detailed anecdotes, Johnson emerges as a sociable figure, vigorously engaging and fencing with great contemporaries such as Garrick, Goldsmith, Burney and Burke, and of course with Boswell himself. Yet anxieties and obsessions also darkened Johnson's private hours, and Boswell's attentiveness to every facet of Johnson's character makes this biography as moving as it is entertaining.
In this entirely new and unabridged edition, David Womersley's introduction examines the motives behind Boswell's work, and the differences between the two men that drew them to each other. It also contains chronologies of Boswell and Johnson, appendices and comprehensive indexes, including biographical details.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
See also[]
| Title | Author | Release date | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversations with Goethe | Johann Peter Eckermann | 1836/1848 | A nonfiction work with a similar layout |
| The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling | Henry Fielding | 1749 | Another major work of the Early Modern period |
| Life of Samuel Johnson | John Hawkins | 1787 | Another contemporary biography of Johnson |
Sources[]
- Wikipedia
- Goodreads