Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson
Discussion
I'm coming up to the end of it. Against my expectations, it's been ace.
Objectively, it doesn't seem to have much going for it. It's 1,000 dense pages long. There are no chapter or section breaks; it's one continuous piece of prose from start to end.
It's easy to find fault with the construction. Johnson's early years are dealt with far too briefly. The production of his Dictionary of the English Language, which was surely his greatest achievement (and which is well known today thanks to Blackadder...) is also treated far, far too briefly given the importance of that work in history. And Francis Barber is barely mentioned. Barber was a black slave whom Johnson acquired as a valet and educated to a high standard; he ended up being Johnson's secretary and executor of his will. Very unusual for the times. That would surely be a fascinating story but it isn't covered.
And yet the later years are covered in too much detail, with event-by-event coverage of almost every single part of Johnson's activity. Where Boswell doesn't know what happened, he inserts general platitudes from others or tries to outline his own philosophical ideas, which often aren't very good. It gets rather tedious in places.
It's clear that Boswell was in awe of Johnson for much of his life, but the constant flattery, and apparent jealousy of anyone whom he suspects of knowing Johnson as well as he did, is again tedious to read.
What saves it are the extracts from Johnson's conversation and letters, which make up at least half the text and which are quite simply brilliant, usually educational, often funny and endlessly quotable. We all know the one about the dog walking on its hind legs, and the one about patriotism being the last refuge of the scoundrel, but there are hundreds of others.
It's a long book but it's not that difficult to read and IMHO it's worth it. I now know much more about 18th century Britain than I did before
Anyone else read it, and have an opinion?
Objectively, it doesn't seem to have much going for it. It's 1,000 dense pages long. There are no chapter or section breaks; it's one continuous piece of prose from start to end.
It's easy to find fault with the construction. Johnson's early years are dealt with far too briefly. The production of his Dictionary of the English Language, which was surely his greatest achievement (and which is well known today thanks to Blackadder...) is also treated far, far too briefly given the importance of that work in history. And Francis Barber is barely mentioned. Barber was a black slave whom Johnson acquired as a valet and educated to a high standard; he ended up being Johnson's secretary and executor of his will. Very unusual for the times. That would surely be a fascinating story but it isn't covered.
And yet the later years are covered in too much detail, with event-by-event coverage of almost every single part of Johnson's activity. Where Boswell doesn't know what happened, he inserts general platitudes from others or tries to outline his own philosophical ideas, which often aren't very good. It gets rather tedious in places.
It's clear that Boswell was in awe of Johnson for much of his life, but the constant flattery, and apparent jealousy of anyone whom he suspects of knowing Johnson as well as he did, is again tedious to read.
What saves it are the extracts from Johnson's conversation and letters, which make up at least half the text and which are quite simply brilliant, usually educational, often funny and endlessly quotable. We all know the one about the dog walking on its hind legs, and the one about patriotism being the last refuge of the scoundrel, but there are hundreds of others.
It's a long book but it's not that difficult to read and IMHO it's worth it. I now know much more about 18th century Britain than I did before
Anyone else read it, and have an opinion?
I have more than a little personal interest in this as I am directly descended from Boswell the Biographer and my Grandfather is the 16th Laird of Auchinlech.
Family connections aside, Boswell was a tedious, egotistical sycophant. His diaries are full of his own imaginings of what London society must think of him. The first volume is mainly him inviting himself to dinner at several sea lords London homes in hope of getting a naval commission (that never appears).
What Boswell's books do show (much like Pepys) is a meticulous insight in to life at that time. Much can be learnt by social historians about etiquette, language, geography, family planning(!), agriculture and architectural ideas that if it were not for diarists, would not be known about now.
Family connections aside, Boswell was a tedious, egotistical sycophant. His diaries are full of his own imaginings of what London society must think of him. The first volume is mainly him inviting himself to dinner at several sea lords London homes in hope of getting a naval commission (that never appears).
What Boswell's books do show (much like Pepys) is a meticulous insight in to life at that time. Much can be learnt by social historians about etiquette, language, geography, family planning(!), agriculture and architectural ideas that if it were not for diarists, would not be known about now.
Wow, the power of PH 
This is often described as "the greatest biography in the English language" or "the best biography ever written". Yet in terms of the quality of writing and construction, I have read far better.
It's great to read, but no greater than "Johnson's selected letters and conversations, arranged in chronological order, with a bit of context here and there" would be. Nearly all of the merit is in Johnson's output. Having said that, there is also the fact that Boswell was able to collect all of this output in the first place. During Johnson's life Boswell wrote down a lot of his conversation as he said it, and after Johnson's death he went all the country trying to collect every letter or document that Johnson ever wrote or received. So, everything in the biography is Johnson's actual speech and writing, rather than second-hand accounts, and that brings him to life in the book. It must have been a colossal effort in the late 18th century and perhaps that gets overlooked.
Also, the section of the work dealing with Johnson's decline in health and eventual death - from the point that Boswell announces that he is now going to take a back seat for the last part of the story - is IMHO very well done and quite moving in places.
This is often described as "the greatest biography in the English language" or "the best biography ever written". Yet in terms of the quality of writing and construction, I have read far better.
It's great to read, but no greater than "Johnson's selected letters and conversations, arranged in chronological order, with a bit of context here and there" would be. Nearly all of the merit is in Johnson's output. Having said that, there is also the fact that Boswell was able to collect all of this output in the first place. During Johnson's life Boswell wrote down a lot of his conversation as he said it, and after Johnson's death he went all the country trying to collect every letter or document that Johnson ever wrote or received. So, everything in the biography is Johnson's actual speech and writing, rather than second-hand accounts, and that brings him to life in the book. It must have been a colossal effort in the late 18th century and perhaps that gets overlooked.
Also, the section of the work dealing with Johnson's decline in health and eventual death - from the point that Boswell announces that he is now going to take a back seat for the last part of the story - is IMHO very well done and quite moving in places.
I love Johnson.
For newcomers to Johnson I can recommend Everybody's Boswell because it is abridged, it contains Boswell's account of their tour of the highlands and islands and it is illustrated.
Everybody's Pepys is worth reading too.
Both editions available on eBay.
Also, for a modern look at Boswell (and Pepys) it is well worth reading:
Boswell's Presumptuous Task by Adam Sisman
Also:
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin
Both available on Amazon
For newcomers to Johnson I can recommend Everybody's Boswell because it is abridged, it contains Boswell's account of their tour of the highlands and islands and it is illustrated.
Everybody's Pepys is worth reading too.
Both editions available on eBay.
Also, for a modern look at Boswell (and Pepys) it is well worth reading:
Boswell's Presumptuous Task by Adam Sisman
Also:
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin
Both available on Amazon
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