Author: Peter Martin
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0297856162
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
The first new biography for a generation of one of the great figures of English literature Poet, essayist, biographer, lexicographer, critic, conversationalist and wit, Dr Johnson is one of the great figures of English literature, perhaps the most quoted English writer after Shakespeare. Our view of Johnson has been overwhelmingly shaped by James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, published in 1791, the most famous biography in the English language. But invaluable as Boswell is as a source, he should not be the last word. This new biography illuminates the Johnson that Boswell never knew: the awkward youth, the unsuccessful schoolmaster, the eccentric marriage, his early years in London in the 1740s scratching a living, the epic struggle to produce the Dictionary. Very much the outsider, rather than the supremely confident dispenser of robust common sense. Using material unknown to previous biographers, Peter Martin describes the psychological knife-edge on which Johnson felt he lived, caused by his severe melancholia and his physical diseases. He explores Johnson's role in the publishing and printing world of the time and he reveals how important women were to Johnson throughout his life. The Samuel Johnson that emerges from this enthralling biography is still the foremost figure of his age but a more rebellious, unpredictable and sympathetic figure than the one that Boswell so memorably portrayed.
Samuel Johnson
Author: Peter Martin
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0297856162
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
The first new biography for a generation of one of the great figures of English literature Poet, essayist, biographer, lexicographer, critic, conversationalist and wit, Dr Johnson is one of the great figures of English literature, perhaps the most quoted English writer after Shakespeare. Our view of Johnson has been overwhelmingly shaped by James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, published in 1791, the most famous biography in the English language. But invaluable as Boswell is as a source, he should not be the last word. This new biography illuminates the Johnson that Boswell never knew: the awkward youth, the unsuccessful schoolmaster, the eccentric marriage, his early years in London in the 1740s scratching a living, the epic struggle to produce the Dictionary. Very much the outsider, rather than the supremely confident dispenser of robust common sense. Using material unknown to previous biographers, Peter Martin describes the psychological knife-edge on which Johnson felt he lived, caused by his severe melancholia and his physical diseases. He explores Johnson's role in the publishing and printing world of the time and he reveals how important women were to Johnson throughout his life. The Samuel Johnson that emerges from this enthralling biography is still the foremost figure of his age but a more rebellious, unpredictable and sympathetic figure than the one that Boswell so memorably portrayed.
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0297856162
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
The first new biography for a generation of one of the great figures of English literature Poet, essayist, biographer, lexicographer, critic, conversationalist and wit, Dr Johnson is one of the great figures of English literature, perhaps the most quoted English writer after Shakespeare. Our view of Johnson has been overwhelmingly shaped by James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson, published in 1791, the most famous biography in the English language. But invaluable as Boswell is as a source, he should not be the last word. This new biography illuminates the Johnson that Boswell never knew: the awkward youth, the unsuccessful schoolmaster, the eccentric marriage, his early years in London in the 1740s scratching a living, the epic struggle to produce the Dictionary. Very much the outsider, rather than the supremely confident dispenser of robust common sense. Using material unknown to previous biographers, Peter Martin describes the psychological knife-edge on which Johnson felt he lived, caused by his severe melancholia and his physical diseases. He explores Johnson's role in the publishing and printing world of the time and he reveals how important women were to Johnson throughout his life. The Samuel Johnson that emerges from this enthralling biography is still the foremost figure of his age but a more rebellious, unpredictable and sympathetic figure than the one that Boswell so memorably portrayed.
Defining the World
Author: Henry Hitchings
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1429928948
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
“[A] marvelous account” of Johnson’s towering achievement, nearly a decade of labor and linguistic fact-finding, presented by “a buoyant, zestful writer” (The Boston Globe). By the early eighteenth century, France and Italy had impressive lexicons, but there was no authoritative dictionary of English. Impelled by a mixture of national pride and commercial expedience, the prodigious polymath Samuel Johnson embraced the task, turning over the garret of his London home to the creation of his own giant dictionary. Johnson imagined that he could complete the job in three years. But the complexity of English meant that his estimate was wildly inadequate. Only after he had expended nearly a decade of his prime on the task did the dictionary finally appear—magisterial yet quirky, dogmatic but generous of spirit, and steeped in the richness of English literature. It would come to be seen as the most important British cultural monument of the eighteenth century, and its influence fanned out across Europe and throughout Britain’s colonies—including, crucially, America. Brilliantly entertaining and enlightening, Defining the World is the story of Johnson’s heroic endeavor. In alphabetically sequenced chapters, Henry Hitchings describes Johnson’s adventure—his ambition and vision, his moments of despair, the mistakes he made along the way, and his ultimate triumph.
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1429928948
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
“[A] marvelous account” of Johnson’s towering achievement, nearly a decade of labor and linguistic fact-finding, presented by “a buoyant, zestful writer” (The Boston Globe). By the early eighteenth century, France and Italy had impressive lexicons, but there was no authoritative dictionary of English. Impelled by a mixture of national pride and commercial expedience, the prodigious polymath Samuel Johnson embraced the task, turning over the garret of his London home to the creation of his own giant dictionary. Johnson imagined that he could complete the job in three years. But the complexity of English meant that his estimate was wildly inadequate. Only after he had expended nearly a decade of his prime on the task did the dictionary finally appear—magisterial yet quirky, dogmatic but generous of spirit, and steeped in the richness of English literature. It would come to be seen as the most important British cultural monument of the eighteenth century, and its influence fanned out across Europe and throughout Britain’s colonies—including, crucially, America. Brilliantly entertaining and enlightening, Defining the World is the story of Johnson’s heroic endeavor. In alphabetically sequenced chapters, Henry Hitchings describes Johnson’s adventure—his ambition and vision, his moments of despair, the mistakes he made along the way, and his ultimate triumph.
Samuel Johnson
Author: Jeffrey Meyers
Publisher: Oldcastle Books Ltd
ISBN: 1904915507
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 543
Book Description
Jeffrey Meyers tells the extraordinary story of Samuel Johnson one of the most illustrious figures of English literary tradition. Johnson was famous as a poet, novelist, biographer, essayist, critic, editor, lexicographer, conversationalist and larger than life personality. After nine years of work Johnson's, 'A dictionary of the English Language, was published in 1755. He overcame great adversity to achieve success. 'The Struggle' is a masterful portrait of a brilliant and tormented figure.
Publisher: Oldcastle Books Ltd
ISBN: 1904915507
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 543
Book Description
Jeffrey Meyers tells the extraordinary story of Samuel Johnson one of the most illustrious figures of English literary tradition. Johnson was famous as a poet, novelist, biographer, essayist, critic, editor, lexicographer, conversationalist and larger than life personality. After nine years of work Johnson's, 'A dictionary of the English Language, was published in 1755. He overcame great adversity to achieve success. 'The Struggle' is a masterful portrait of a brilliant and tormented figure.
The Story of Doctor Johnson
Author:
Publisher: CUP Archive
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 172
Book Description
Publisher: CUP Archive
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 172
Book Description
The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.
Author: James Boswell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Authors, English
Languages : en
Pages : 478
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Authors, English
Languages : en
Pages : 478
Book Description
The Story of Doctor Johnson
Author: Sydney Castle Roberts
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
A Dictionary of the English Language
Author: Samuel Johnson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Encyclopedias and dictionaries
Languages : en
Pages : 1234
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Encyclopedias and dictionaries
Languages : en
Pages : 1234
Book Description
Doctor Johnson and the Fair Sex
Author: William Henry Craig
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Authors, English
Languages : en
Pages : 300
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Authors, English
Languages : en
Pages : 300
Book Description
Abyssinia's Samuel Johnson
Author: Wendy Laura Belcher
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019979331X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 298
Book Description
Uncovers African influences on the Western imagination during the eighteenth century, paying particular attention to the ways Ethiopia inspired and shaped the work of Samuel Johnson.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019979331X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 298
Book Description
Uncovers African influences on the Western imagination during the eighteenth century, paying particular attention to the ways Ethiopia inspired and shaped the work of Samuel Johnson.
Samuel Johnson
Author: David Nokes
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 080508651X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 469
Book Description
In this groundbreaking portrait of Samuel Johnson, Nokes positions the great thinker in his rightful place as an active force in the Enlightenment, not a mere recorder or performer, and demonstrates how his interaction with life impacted his work.
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 080508651X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 469
Book Description
In this groundbreaking portrait of Samuel Johnson, Nokes positions the great thinker in his rightful place as an active force in the Enlightenment, not a mere recorder or performer, and demonstrates how his interaction with life impacted his work.