The Life of Samuel Johnson (Unabridged edition)

Charming, vibrant, witty and edifying, The Life of Samuel Johnson is a work of great obsession and boundless reverence.

The literary critic Samuel Johnson first encountered James Boswell at the age of 54; the friendship that developed spawned one of the greatest biographies in the history of world literature.

The book is full of humorous anecdote and rich characterisation, and paints a vivid picture of 18th-century London, peopled by prominent personalities of the time such as Sir Joshua Reynolds,John Wilkes, Oliver Goldsmith and David Garrick, while also giving a compelling insight into Johnson's complex humanity - his depression, fear of death, intellectual brilliance and rough humour.