Much of their association was conducted from afar; from his home in Edinburgh, Boswell visited London for several weeks each year, where the men socialized in taverns, in Johnson's dwelling, and at dinner with friends — a circle that included playwright Oliver Goldsmith, painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, actor David Garrick, and other luminaries. Boswell's remarkably modern approach interweaves letters and a series of vignettes that he called "scenes." Published in 1791, the book has become far more familiar than Johnson's own works, and this edition provides an accessible, abridged edition of the classic biography.
This is a biography of Dr. Samuel Johnson written by James Boswell. It is regarded as an important stage in the development of the modern genre of biography; many have claimed it as the greatest biography written in English. While Boswell's personal acquaintance with his subject only began in 1763, when Johnson was 54 years old, Boswell covered the entirety of Johnson's life by means of additional research.
The most celebrated English biography is a group portrait in which extraordinary man paints the picture of a dozen more
At the centre of a brilliant circle which included Burke, Reynolds, Garrick, Fanny Burney and even George III, Boswell captures the powerful, troubled and witty figure of Samuel Johnson, who towers above them all. Yet this is also an intimate picture of domestic life, which mingles the greatest talkers of a talkative age with the hero's humbler friends in a picture which is, before all things, humane.
As a young man about London, James Boswell was obsessed by literature, and, on a fateful day in 1763, he attached himself with unswerving tenacity to the dominant literary figure of his agethe splendidly rotund, articulate, and humane Dr Samuel Johnson. What followed was the most famous of friendships between writers and the bais for the remarkable documentation contained in Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, the greatest and most compelling of all biographies.
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.
One of the greatest and most compelling of all biographies in literature had its beginnings on a fateful day in London in 1763, when young James Boswell determinedly attached himself to the dominant literary figure of his agethe splendidly humane, devastatingly witty, often troubled Dr. Samuel Johnson. What followed was one of the most famous of literary friendships, one that Boswell carefully documented over the years and eventually made the basis of an extraordinarily vivid group portrait.
Johnson was at the center of a brilliant circle that included the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, the actor David Garrick, the writers Frances Burney and Edmund Burke, and even King George III. By incorporating conversations he had recorded and including a wealth of personal and human details in his LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, Boswell revolutionized the art of biography. He not only managed to bring to life the towering and complicated figure of Johnson, but also provided an intimate picture of private life that mingled the heros humbler friends with the greatest talkers of a talkative age. The result is an enduring monument to a remarkable man that ensured Boswells own place in literary history.
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James Boswell, Claude RawsonEveryman's Library / 2015 / ePubOur Price$14.99Availability: In StockStock No: WW80487EB
One of the greatest and most compelling of all biographies in literature had its beginnings on a fateful day in London in 1763, when young James Boswell determinedly attached himself to the dominant literary figure of his agethe splendidly humane, devastatingly witty, often troubled Dr. Samuel Johnson. What followed was one of the most famous of literary friendships, one that Boswell carefully documented over the years and eventually made the basis of an extraordinarily vivid group portrait.
Johnson was at the center of a brilliant circle that included the painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, the actor David Garrick, the writers Frances Burney and Edmund Burke, and even King George III. By incorporating conversations he had recorded and including a wealth of personal and human details in his LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, Boswell revolutionized the art of biography. He not only managed to bring to life the towering and complicated figure of Johnson, but also provided an intimate picture of private life that mingled the heros humbler friends with the greatest talkers of a talkative age. The result is an enduring monument to a remarkable man that ensured Boswells own place in literary history.
This volume contains a generous selection from the essays Johnson published twice weekly as "The Rambler" in the early 1750s. It was here that he first created the literary character and forged the distinctive prose style that established him as a public figure. Also included here is the best of Johnson's later journalism, including essays from the periodicals "The Adventurer" and "The Idler."
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.
"I mentioned our design to Voltaire," wrote Boswell. "He looked at me as if I had talked of going to the North Pole …"
As it turned out, Johnson enjoyed their Scottish journey (although the land was not quite so wild and barbaric as perhaps he had hoped), and Boswell delighted in it. The year was 1773, they were sixty-three and thirty-two years old, and had been friends for ten years. Their journals, published together here, perfectly complement each other. Johnson's majestic prose and hawk eye for curious detail take in everything from the stone arrowheads found in the Hebrides, to the 'medicinal' waters of Loch Ness and "the mischiefs of emigration." Meanwhile, it is very lucky that as Johnson was observing Scotland, Boswell was observing Johnson. His record is perceptive, highly entertaining and full of sardonic wit; for him, as for us, it is an appetizer for The Life of Johnson.
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.