Luminarium Book Store: Samuel Johnson

These books represent only a faction of the books available on Johnson;
there are too many to feature them all individually. Use the search box
on the bottom to browse more books on Johnson.

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Biographical

Samuel Johnson
by James by Walter Jackson Bate
Counterpoint Press, 199. A brilliant biography of Johnson, uncovering
the person behind the literary genius.

The Life of Samuel Johnson
by James Boswell
Everyman's Library, 1993. This is a reprint of the classic biography
of Johnson by his contemporary, Boswell.

Works

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
by Samuel Johnson, Jack Lynch, ed.
Walker & Company, 2007
3,100 selections from Dr. Johnson's historic dictionary, with
definitions, etymologies and usage illustrations. To buss is
charmingly defined as "To kiss; to salute with the lips." And
laced mutton, readers learn, is "an old word for a whore."
The excerpts from the dictionary itself are complemented by
the inclusion of Johnson's earlier "Plan of a Dictionary" and
three appendixes: one of Shakesperean citations in the dictionary,
one of additional literary citations and a third of "piquant terms."
—Publishers Weekly

Samuel Johnson: The Major Works
by Samuel Johnson, Donald Greene (Editor)
Oxford University Press, 2000
This volume celebrates Johnson's astonishing talent by selecting
widely across the full range of his work. It includes 'London' and
'The Vanity of Human Wishes' among other poems, and many of his
essays for the Rambler and Idler. The prefaces to his edition of
Shakespeare and his famous Dictionary, together with samples from
the texts, are given, as well as selections from A Journey to the
Western Islands of Scotland, the Lives of the Poets, and Rasselas
in its entirety. —The Publisher

Studies

The Cambridge Companion to Samuel Johnson
by Greg Clingham, ed.
Cambridge University Press, 1997
A wonderful introduction to the reading and
study of Johnson and his works, including
introductions to approaching his works,
their themes, Johnson's attitudes on subjects, and so on. Indispensable.

Samuel Johnson and the Making of Modern England
by Nicholas Hudson
Cambridge University Press, 2003
"Nicholas Hudson examines [Johnson's] contribution to
the creation of the modern English identity, focusing
on his attitudes towards class, feminism, party politics,
the public sphere, nationalism, and imperialism. This new
view of Johnson reflects the nature of English nationhood." —Amazon.com

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