The Life of Samuel Johnson

Published in 1791, this biography follows Samuel Johnson from a Lichfield childhood and a hard youth in London through the Dictionary, the Rambler, the edition of Shakespeare, and the late fame of his club and conversation. Boswell, who met Johnson in 1763, records talk at table and in coaches with Reynolds, Burke, Goldsmith, and others, and he includes letters, prayers, and his own Scottish tour with Johnson. The method is scene and quotation more than abstract analysis. The book is a life built from observed speech, not a critical essay on the writings alone.

Sixteen leaves of gravure plates per volume. Dark green leather, green cloth boards with an oval brown paper cover-label. Brown endleaves. Pale brown two-volume slipcase.