The Life of Samuel Johnson (Annotated)

This edition includes the following editor's analysis: "The Life of Samuel Johnson,” an ode to friendship and admiration by James Boswell

First published in 1791, “The Life of Samuel Johnson” is a biography of English writer Samuel Johnson written by his friend and admirer James Boswell. Boswell’s biography is considered by many scholars to be one of the finest pieces of biographical writing in the English language.

Boswell was acquainted with Samuel Johnson during his life but did not publish the work until seven years after Johnson’s death. The work was from the beginning a critical and popular success and represents a landmark in the development of the modern genre of biography.

Later research has shown that Boswell took liberties with some of Johnson’s quotations and censored important incidents from his biography. However, the level of detail included in the work makes it a valuable resource on Samuel Johnson and the eighteenth century.