Samuel Johnson

Description

This volume in the 21st-Century Oxford Authors series offers students an authoritative, comprehensive selection of the work of Samuel Johnson (1709-1784). This edition presents Johnson's texts in chronological order, and includes an Introduction, Chronology, and full commentary notes.

• Introduces students to the life and work of Samuel Johnson
• Johnson's work is presented in chronological order, allowing students to study his development and growth as a poet and essayist
• Includes a separate Chronology at the opening of the volume, which provides details of Johnson's life, and the composition and publication of his works
• The poems and writings are presented free of annotation on the pages, allowing students to encounter the original texts afresh
• Explanatory notes and commentary are located at the end of the book, providing students with a wealth of additional material and information that will enhance the understanding and enjoyment of these works
• An essential teaching resource, representing Johnson's work in all its variety

About the Author(s)

Edited by David Womersley, Thomas Warton Professor of English, University of Oxford

David Womersley is the Thomas Warton Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford, and a fellow of St. Catherine's College.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chronology
Note on the Texts
Part I: Early Poetry and Prose to 1750
Translation of Horace, Odes, I.xxii (pre-1725)
Translation of Horace, Epode, II (prob. 1726)
Translation of Horace, Odes, II.xiv (prob. 1726)
Translation of Horace, Odes, II.xx (prob. 1726)
'Festina Lente' (prob. late 1726)
'The Young Author' (1729)
'Annals' (1734) - from birth to 1719
Letter to Cave, 25 November, 1734
'Preface' to Lobo's Voyage to Abyssinia (1 February, 1735)
Letter to Cave, 12 July, 1737
London (12 May, 1738)
'Debates in the Senate of Magna Lilliputia' (June, 1738)
'A Prayer on my Birth-Day' (7 September, 1738)
'On Gay's Epitaph' (October, 1738)
'Life of Boerhaave' (January, 1739)
A Compleat Vindication of the Licensers of the Stage (May, 1739)
'Prologue' to Lethe (April, 1740)
'An Epitaph on Claudy Philips, a Musician' (September, 1740)
'On Epitaphs' (December, 1740)
Review of the Memoirs of the Duchess of Marlborough (March, 1742)
Proposal for the Harleian Miscellany (November, 1742)
Letter to Edward Cave, autumn 1743
Life of Savage (11 February, 1744)
Introduction to the Harleian Miscellany (April, 1744)
'To Miss -, on her playing upon the harpsichord' (1746?)
Prologue Spoken by Mr Garrick at the Opening of the Theatre in Drury-Lane (September, 1747)
'The Vision of Theodore' (7 April, 1748)
The Vanity of Human Wishes (9 January, 1749)
'The Vanity of Wealth' (February, 1750)
Part II: 'Dictionary' Johnson
The Rambler (1750-1752): 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 39, 41, 45, 47, 49, 60, 63, 64, 70,71, 72, 73, 76, 77, 79, 85, 87, 90, 93, 101, 106, 108, 113, 114, 115, 121, 129, 134, 135, 137, 142, 146, 148, 151, 156, 158, 159, 161, 165, 167, 168, 170, 171, 176, 181, 183, 184, 188, 191, 196, 207, 208
'Life of Cheynel' (July, 1751)
Sermon . . . for the Funeral of his Wife (prob. March, 1752)
'Prayers Composed on the Death of My Wife' (24 April-6 May 1752)
The Adventurer (1752-1754): 39, 45, 50, 67, 69, 84, 85, 95, 99, 102, 107, 111, 119, 126, 137, 138
Diary entries, 22, 23, and 29 April, 1753
Letter to Thomas Warton, 16 July, 1754
'Preface' to the Dictionary of the English Language (15 April, 1755)
Letter to the Earl of Chesterfield, 7 February, 1755
Letter to Bennet Langton, 6 May, 1755
Letter to Miss Hill Boothby, 31 December, 1755
Letter to Miss Hill Boothby, 8 January, 1756
Letter to Samuel Richardson, 16 March, 1756
'Introduction to the Political State of Great Britain' (15 May, 1756)
Review of Warton, Essay on the Writings and Genius of Pope (15 May, 1756)
Review of Blackwell, Memoirs of the Court of Augustus (15 May, 1756)
'Observations on the Present State of Affairs' (15 August, 1756)
Review of Hanway, An Essay on Tea (15 May, 1757)
Review of Jenyns, Free Inquiry (15 May, 1757)
'Of the Duty of a Journalist' (8 April, 1758)
The Idler (8 April 1758-1760): 1, 5, 10, 17, [22], 22, 23, 27, 30, 31, 32, 36, 38, 40, 41, 44, 48, 49, 50, 51, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 65, 66, 72, 81, 84, 88, 94, 100, 103
Letter to Sarah Johnson, 20 January, 1759
Letter to William Strahan, 20 January, 1759
Letter to Lucy Porter, 23 January, 1759
Diary entry and prayer, 23 January, 1759
Rasselas (26 June, 1759)
'The Bravery of the English Common Soldiers' (January, 1760)
Review of Tytler's Mary Queen of Scots (October, 1760)
Part III: The Great Cham of Literature
Letter to Baretti, 10 June, 1761
Letter to Boswell, 8 December, 1763
Diary entry, 21 April, 1764
'A Reply to Impromptu Verses by Baretti' (1765?)
Preface to The Plays of Shakespeare (10 October, 1765)
Diary entry, 1 January, 1766
'The Fountains' (1 April, 1766)
Letter to Boswell, 9 September, 1769
The False Alarm (16 January, 1770)
Prayer on Easter Day, 31 March, 1771
'Parodies of Percy's Hermit of Warkworth' (prob. summer 1771)
'????? ???????' (12 December, 1772)
Letter to Boswell, 24 February, 1773
Diary entry, 22 July, 1773
Diary entry, 25 July, 1774
The Patriot (12 October, 1774)
Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (18 January, 1775) - selection
Letter to James Macpherson, 20 January, 1775
Taxation No Tyranny (8 March, 1775)
Diary entry, 14 April, 1775
'To Mrs Thrale on her Thirty-Fifth Birthday' (presented 24 January, 1776)
Diary entry for Easter Day, 7 April, 1776
'Lines on Thomas Warton's Poems' (early 1777?)
Diary entry, 28 March, 1777
'Prologue' to Hugh Kelly's A Word to the Wise (29 May, 1777)
Letter to William Dodd, 26 June, 1777
Letter to Richard Farmer, 22 July, 1777
'An Extempore Elegy' (1778?)
'A Short Song of Congratulation' (August, 1780)
Lives of the Poets (1781)
Letter to Thomas Lawrence, 17 January, 1782
Diary entry, 20 January, 1782
Letter to Thomas Lawrence, 1 May, 1782
Letter to Boswell, 7 September, 1782
'On the Death of Dr Robert Levet' (August, 1783)
Correspondence with Mrs. Thrale, 2-8 July, 1784
Letter to Lord Thurlow, 9 September, 1784
Translation of Horace, Odes, IV.vii (November, 1784)
Diary entry, 5 December, 1784
Appendices
Appendix A: Johnson's prayer on beginning The Rambler.
Appendix B: Johnson's revisions to The Rambler, no. 1.
Appendix C: Bonnell Thornton's parody of The Rambler.
Notes
Texts Arranged by Genre
Index of Short Titles
Index of First Lines
Index of Persons
Index of Subjects

Reviews

"Womersley's elegant introduction interweaves biography with the literary forms that Johnson often single-handedly transformed, with compelling reflections on the anomalies and estrangements in his prose ... a richly representative volume" - Jayne Lewis, Studies in English Literature

"The astonishing range of [Johnson's] work is fairly represented in David Womersley's selection ... By giving each of them due weight, this superb new edition—a slab of a book—suggests a way of putting Johnson's life and his writing back together again." - Freya Johnston, London Review of Books

"This is easily the most comprehensive, visually attractive anthology of Johnson's poetry and prose ever produced. Its generous length permits inclusion of numerous less-known pieces; it is physically compact and easy to hold in the hands; and it includes black-and-white illustrations of title pages, a manuscript page, and a printer's proof page." - CHOICE