Boswell’s Life of Johnson has been on my must-eventually-read-this list forever and finally I finished it this evening. Boswell writes well, using anecdotes and quotes to show his revered Samuel Johnson, and his circle of eminent friends. Johnson lived in the 1700s, dying in 1784, and was a man of words, written and spoken. Johnson viewed conversation and wit as great arts and took great pride in his skill talking about almost anything and winning discussions on any topic.
Johnson saw nothing whatsoever to love about Scotland or America, yet his great friend Boswell is Scottish and he willingly would discourse with Americans when they were polite and showed him reverence. Boswell was obsequious; what we would call brown nosing, Boswell felt was simply showing the immense respect that Johnson deserved.
Today we don’t read much of Johnson’s writings, although we still use some of his sayings, e.g., “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight it concentrates his mind wonderfully”. Boswell wrote travel books but his only enduring success is this, the Life of Johnson.
Boswell writes well and uses anecdotes and remembered conversations to show us himself, Johnson, and 1700s London. Editor Christopher Hibbert noted that his edits removed direct excerpts from Johnson’s writings.
I doubt I’ll ever read anything by Johnson or Boswell but this was interesting and I’m glad to have finally read it.
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