The Life of Samuel Johnson

"When a man is tired of London he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." -Samuel Johnson, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)

The Life of Samuel Johnson, Volume II (1791) stands as one of the greatest biographies published, documenting the life of arguably the most influential writer of the 18th century. Johnson was a poet, essayist, and biographer, but most notably, the writer of the first dictionary in the English language. Boswells work provides much of what is known about the life of Johnson. This second volume of the 1905 edition features Johnsons personal accounts of his travels to North Wales and Hebrides, Scotland. It also details the many conversations between Johnson and his much younger friend, Boswell. The book is replete with Johnsons well-known witticisms and is a must-read for lovers of literature and history.