The best source of information about the life of Johnson remains James Boswell's
Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D., published in 1791. This is available in many popular reprints, the major scholarly edition being that of George Birkbeck Hill, revised in six volumes by L.F. Powell (1934-1964). Other major contemporary stores of biographical material compiled by Johnson's acquaintances include the
Anecdotesof Hester Lynch Piozzi (Mrs Thrale), and memoirs by the artist Sir Joshua Reynolds, both reprinted in the two volumes of
Johnsonian Miscellanies, edited by George Birkbeck Hill (1897). The best modern biographies of Johnson are John Wain's
SamuelJohnson(1974) and Walter Jackson Bate's major study, similarly titled, of 1977. Authoritative accounts of Johnson's life prior to his acquaintance…
1989 words
Citation: Smallwood, Philip. "Samuel Johnson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2387, accessed 21 November 2024.]
