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.
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up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.