Life of Johnson 1776-80 Vol 3

by James Boswell, Robert H. Bruce (Editor), Marshall Waingrow (Editor)

No ISBN. This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1851

About the author

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 on the grand tour of Europe that he took as a young nobleman and, subsequently, of his tour of Scotland with Johnson. His journals also record meetings and conversations with eminent individuals belonging to The Club, including Lord Monboddo, David Garrick, Edmund Burke, Joshua Reynolds and Oliver Goldsmith. His written works focus chiefly on others, but he was admitted as a good companion and accomplished conversationalist in his own right.

Reviews

[Bumbles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4*s
I love Boswell but this volume was quite dull. NOTHING happened in this. Johnson and Boswell were separated for a good chunk of this section and the heavy thicket of correspondences broke me down. They do eventually meet and their friendship was as lovely as ever. Johnson in this volume, however, is exceptionally irritating. I can see why people do not like him but I also admire his efforts to keep his depression and melancholy at bay. I watched a review and someone pointed out a persistent problem with Johnson... he has an opinion on everything. The more I read the truer that seems to become. Johnson is a conflicting personality, I do not know what to think of him. He is someone different in his correspondences but in-person he acts differently. What you can be sure about is that Boswell has depicted Johnson with all his faults, and made every aspect of his person available to scrutinize. If anything Johnson is a mirror of ourselves, he is a copia of personality traits that clash with each other and especially with his friends.

[Dwayne Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's nothing I can add to this work, and nothing I wish to take away. Over three volumes, Boswell has used Johnson's own words to fashion an image of the man that is - in some way - alive. Now, at the end, it seems as if someone I know has died. I didn't realize this kind of biography was possible.