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The Life of Samuel Johnson

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The Life of Samuel Johnson

By: James Boswell
Narrated by: David Timson
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About this listen

Charming, vibrant, witty and edifying, The Life of Samuel Johnson is a work of great obsession and boundless reverence. The literary critic Samuel Johnson was 54 when he first encountered Boswell; the friendship that developed spawned one of the greatest biographies in the history of world literature.

The book is full of humorous anecdote and rich characterization, and paints a vivid picture of 18th-century London, peopled by prominent personalities of the time such as Sir Joshua Reynolds, John Wilkes, Oliver Goldsmith and David Garrick, while also giving a compelling insight into Johnson's complex humanity - his depression, fear of death, intellectual brilliance and rough humor.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2017 Naxos AudioBooks Art & Literature Authors Europe European Great Britain Literary History & Criticism World Literature Celebrity England Comedy Witty Middle Ages United Kingdom Biography
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A thoroughly absorbing biography by the Scottish barrister James Boswell of the great 18th century English literary figure Samuel Johnson. Best known for his English dictionary, Johnson is perhaps less read today than Boswell, an irony that would not be lost on the former. Apart from containing a handy biography of Johnson himself, bit parts are played by luminaries of the time including painter Sir Joshua Reynolds and actor David Garrick, explorer James Cook and naturalist Joseph Banks. This work also contains a great deal of literary gossip and commercial talk about the production of books of considerable interest, as well as critical discussion of a great many authors ancient and modern, foreign and English. Johnson's high Tory and High Church outlook is perhaps less attractive to modern sensibilities, but he treated his black manservant and other dependants kindly and was against slavery. Excellently read with many regional accents, also Scottish.

AN IMMORTAL BIOGRAPHY

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extraordinary biography of a giant of literature! a bit long and had to take a break in the middle but it's perfect for vacations

extraordinary

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A fascinatingly vivid step back in time.
Well written,well read,vast yet intimate.
Essential listening.

Excellent by any & every measure.

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