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James Boswell

Born

in Edinburgh, Scotland

October 29, 1740

Died

May 19, 1795

Genre

Nonfiction, Biographies & Memoirs

Influences

Samuel Johnson, Thomas Pennant, Henry Home, David Dalrymple ...more

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James Boswell, 10th Laird of Auchinleck and 1st Baronet was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the eldest son of a judge, Alexander Boswell, 8th Laird of Auchinleck and his wife Euphemia Erskine, Lady Auchinleck. Boswell's mother was a strict Calvinist, and he felt that his father was cold to him. Boswell, who is best known as Samuel Johnson’s biographer, inherited his father’s estate Auchinleck in Ayrshire. His name has passed into the English language as a term (Boswell, Boswellian, Boswellism) for a constant companion and observer.

Boswell is also known for the detailed and frank journals that he wrote for long periods of his life, which remained undiscovered until the 1920s. These included voluminous notes ...more

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James Boswell’s books

Average rating: 3.79 · 7,949 ratings · 724 reviews · 1,656 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Life of Samuel Johnson 3.81 avg rating — 5,426 ratings — published 1790 — 380 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	London Journal, 1762 - 1763 by James Boswell, Frederick A. Pottle (Editor) 3.84 avg rating — 704 ratings — published 1950 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides 3.83 avg rating — 232 ratings — published 1785 — 252 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Life of Johnson, Volume 1 1709-1765 by James Boswell, George Birkbeck Hill (Editor) 4.21 avg rating — 66 ratings — published 1934 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Journals, 1762-95 by James Boswell, Mr. John Wain (Editor) 4.24 avg rating — 41 ratings — published 1991 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Meeting Dr Johnson by James Boswell, Christopher Hibbert (Editor) 3.43 avg rating — 40 ratings — published 1996 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Journal of a Tour to Corsica and Memoirs of Pascal Paoli 3.58 avg rating — 38 ratings — published 1955 — 128 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Boswell in Holland 1763 - 1764 by James Boswell, Frederick A. Pottle (Editor) 3.86 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 1952 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Life of Johnson, Volume 2 1765-1776 by James Boswell, George Birkbeck Hill (Editor) 3.95 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 1790 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Life of Johnson 3.65 avg rating — 20 ratings — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by James Boswell

Boswell's Journals (13 books)
by

James Boswell

3.84 avg rating — 1,054 ratings

Quotes by James Boswell (?)

“We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over. So in a series of acts of kindness there is, at last, one which makes the heart run over.”
― James Boswell

tags: frienship, heart, kindness

126 likes

“I am so fond of tea that I could write a whole dissertation on its virtues. It comforts and enlivens without the risks attendant on spirituous liquors. Gentle herb! Let the florid grape yield to thee. Thy soft influence is a more safe inspirer of social joy.”
― James Boswell, London Journal, 1762 - 1763

tags: tea

59 likes

“It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time.”
― James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson

tags: life-and-death

40 likes

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James Boswell’s Followers (113)

James Boswell

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