James BoswellA Life of Johnson Samuel Johnson was born in Lichfield in 1709 and died inLondon in 1784, aged 75. He came from a modestly middle-class background, buthis father’s bookselling business failed and his Oxford education was abruptlyterminated for want of funds. In spite of this, he became the greatest Englishscholar and man of letters of his day, a man of enormous learning but equally aman who loved life in all its variety. Having married in 1735 Mrs. Elizabeth Porter, a widow almosttwice his age, and having had little success in running a school with onlythree students, Johnson moved to London — accompanied by his pupil DavidGarrick. Both found fame in the capital, Garrick more rapidly as the greatestactor of his time, and both remained lifelong friends. Johnson’s literarycareer began humbly enough; producing hackwork for various journals, but it wasthe publication of his Dictionary in 1755, which really set the seal on hisreputation. The Dictionary was the result of nine years’ labor, in conditionsof some poverty, and in the teeth of the terrible depressions, which frequentlyafflicted him. In 1762 Johnson was granted a crown pension; in 1763 he metJames Boswell, so that from this time we have the full and wonderfully vividaccount of his life given by the latter. Johnson’s acquaintance was wide andincluded such eminent men as Sir Joshua Reynolds, Edmund Burke, OliverGoldsmith and Charles Fox: all were members of the Literary Club founded in1764. Other of Johnson’s works include his poem The Vanity of Human Wishes, hisedition of Shakespeare, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, The Livesof the English Poets and Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. Johnson was a man of huge personality — almost terrifying tobehold, with his scarred face, massive frame and eccentricities of word andmovement. He could be a loyal friend and a formidable opponent; he loved totalk and held in thrall a large circle of admirers who contradicted him attheir peril. He had read voraciously and could talk on almost any topic; his politicswere Tory, yet he abhorred slavery, condemned the English treatment of theIrish and attacked religious complacency — perhaps because his faith in thedivine was colored by a profound terror of death. His generosity to the poorand willingness to provide a home for some of those who had enjoyed littleworldly success are touching testimonies to his deep humanity. It was, aboveall, Johnson’s love of society, conversation and friendship, which gave Boswellthe material for his biography — described by Macaulay as the best everwritten. James Boswell (1740-1795) was born in Edinburgh and studiedlaw, but was really more interested in travel, writing and politics — not tomention what he would have called the ‘dissipation’ of his London life. HisJournals give an extraordinarily lively and intimate impression of thisexcitable, enthusiastic and energetically philandering character. His Life ofSamuel Johnson, published in 1791, took him many years to compile and wasmainly based on the extensive conversations and travels he enjoyed with hissubject, for whom he had an affection bordering on worship. Notes by Perry Keenlyside