The Life of Samuel Johnson

Johnson, to be sure, has a roughness in his manner; but no man alive has a more tender heart In Boswells Life of Samuel Johnson, one of the towering figures of English literature is revealed with unparalleled immediacy and originality, in a biography to which we owe our entire knowledge of the man himself. Through a series of wonderfully detailed anecdotes, Johnson emerges as a sociable figure, vigorously engaging and fencing-with great contemporaries such as Garrick,-Goldsmith,-Burney and Burke,-and of course with Boswell himself.- Yet- anxieties and obsessions-also darkened Johnsons private hours, and-Boswells attentiveness to-every facet of Johnsons-character makes-this biography as moving as it is entertaining. In this-new and unabridged edition, David Womersleys introduction examines the motives behind Boswells work, and the differences between the two men that drew them to each other. It also contains chronologies of Boswell and Johnson, appendices and comprehensive indexes, including autobiographical details.