The Life of Samuel Johnson

· Start Publishing LLC · AI-narrated by Martin (from Google)
Audiobook
20 hr 46 min
Unabridged
Eligible
AI-narrated
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About this audiobook

In Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson", one of the towering figures of English literature is revealed with unparalleled immediacy and originality. While Johnson's Dictionary remains a monument of scholarship, and his essays and criticism command continuing respect, we owe our knowledge of the man himself to this biography. Through a series of wonderfully detailed anecdotes, Johnson emerges as a sociable figure with a huge appetite for life, crossing swords with other great eighteenth-century luminaries, from Garrick and Goldsmith to Burney and Burke - even his long-suffering friend and disciple James Boswell.Yet Johnson had a vulnerable, even tragic, side and anxieties and obsessions haunted his private hours. Boswell's sensitivity and insight into every facet of his subject's character ultimately make this biography as moving as it is entertaining. Based on the 1799 edition, Christopher Hibbert's abridgement preserves the integrity of the original, while his fascinating introduction sets Boswell's view of Samuel Johnson against that of others of the time.
In Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson", one of the towering figures of English literature is revealed with unparalleled immediacy and originality. While Johnson's Dictionary remains a monument of scholarship, and his essays and criticism command continuing respect, we owe our knowledge of the man ...

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About the author

James Boswell (1740-1795), Scottish man of letters, was born in Edinburgh and studied law in Glasgow, but his true ambition was literary fame and the company of great men. In 1760 he went to London where he met Samuel Johnson. After several literary successes, he began his acknowledged masterpiece, The Life of Samuel Johnson. Bernard Mayes is a teacher, administrator, corporate executive, broadcaster, actor, dramatist, and former international commentator on US culture. He is best known for his readings of historical classics.
James Boswell (1740-1795), Scottish man of letters, was born in Edinburgh and studied law in Glasgow, but his true ambition was literary fame and the company of great men. In 1760 he went to London where he met Samuel Johnson. After several literary successes, he began his acknowledged masterpiec...

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