Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Bainbridge’s brilliantly imagined, universally acclaimed, Booker Prize-longlisted novel portrays the inordinate appetites and unrequited love touched off when the most celebrated man of eighteenth-century English letters, Samuel Johnson, enters the domain of a wealthy Southwark brewer and his wife, Hester Thrale. The melancholic, middle-aged lexicographer plunges into an increasingly ambiguous relationship with... (more)

The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia

The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia

by Samuel Johnson

Rasselas--regarded as Johnson's most creative work--presents the story of the journey of Rasselas and his companions in search of "the choice of life." Its charm lies not in its plot, but rather in its wise and humane look at man's constant search for happiness. The text is based on the second edition as Samuel Johnson revised it.

Boswell's Life of Johnson

by Greg Clingham, James Boswell

(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed)

by James Boswell

The most complete edition ever published of the iconic Biography WIDELY REGARDED as the finest literary biography ever published, James Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson reveals a man of outsized appetites and private vulnerabilities, and is the source of much of what we know about one of the towering figures of English literature. This new edition collates and corrects the textual inaccuracies of previous... (more)

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary: Selections from the 1755 Work That Defined the English Language

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary: Selections from the 1755 Work That Defined the English Language

Samuel Johnson's 1755 two volume, 2,300 page dictionary marked a milestone in language. The work of a great reader and writer, and an earnest compiler, it was England's definitive dictionary for over 150 years until it was superseded by The Oxford English Dictionary. This new edition contains more than 3,100 selections faithfully adapted from the original. Bristling with quotations, the Dictionary offers a... (more)

Samuel Johnson (Who Was...?)

by Andrew Billen

Johnson (Life & Times)

by Timothy Wilson Smith

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) is one of the pre-eminent figures of 18th century English letters. A poet, essayist, critic, journalist and lexicographer, Johnson was formidably productive and wide-ranging. He was also a legendary wit and conversationalist, whose sharp-tongued pronouncements and many eccentricities are well-recorded in Boswell's classic Life. In 1755, he published the first proper dictionary of the... (more)

BOSWELL'S PRESUMPTUOUS TASK.

by Adam Sisman

Dr. Johnson & Mr. Savage

by Richard Holmes

A description of the friendship between the young Samuel Johnson and the poet, playwright and convicted murderer, Richard Savage. The book portrays the city of London as it was in the 18th-century. The author has also written "Shelley: The Pursuit" for which he won the Somerset Maugham Award.

Johnson on Savage (Lives That Never Grow Old)

Johnson on Savage (Lives That Never Grow Old)

by Samuel Johnson

LIVES THAT NEVER GROW OLD A radical new series - edited by Richard Holmes - that recovers the great classical tradition of English biography. Every book is a biographical masterpiece, still thrilling to read and vividly alive. When he first came to London, young Samuel Johnson was befriended by the flamboyant poet, playwright and blackmailer, Richard Savage. Walking the backstreets at night, he learned Savage's... (more)

Dr Johnson's Dictionary: The Extraordinary Story of the Book That Defined the World

Dr Johnson's Dictionary: The Extraordinary Story of the Book That Defined the World

by Henry Hitchings

By 1700, France and Italy already had dictionaries of their own, and it became a matter of national pride that England should rival them. Dr Johnson rose to the challenge, turning over the garret of his London home to the creation of his Dictionary. He imagined it would take three years. Eight years later it was finally published, full of idiosyncrasies, but complete nevertheless. It would become the most... (more)

Viking Book of Poetry of the English-Speaking WorldVarious Authors

Viking Book of Poetry of the English-Speaking World

by Various Authors

A Life of James Boswell

by Peter Martin

This moving biography reassesses James Boswell's achievements and uncovers the breadth of his world. Peter Martin dispels the notion that Boswell's masterly Life of Johnson was an accidental work of genius, and shows that Boswell was a writer of the highest order and a complex, troubled, but ultimately appealing man.

Boswell's London Journal, 1762-1763

by James Boswell

In 1762 James Boswell, then twenty-two years old, left Edinburgh for London. The famous Journal he kept during the next nine months is an intimate account of his encounters with the high-life and the low-life in London. Frank and confessional as a personal portrait of the young Boswell, the Journal is also revealing as a vivid portrayal of life in eighteenth-century London. This new edition includes an... (more)

Journals and Letters: Burney, Frances (Penguin Classics)

Journals and Letters: Burney, Frances (Penguin Classics)

by Fanny Burney

"Such an entertaining read . . . a diarist ranking alongside Pepys for her insights into the world in which she lived." ( The Guardian , London) Written during a seventy-year period, from 1768 to 1839, Frances Burney's letters and journals provide a unique insight into her life and times. Distinguished by their remarkable range and variety, they record Burney's experience of English court life and later, in... (more)

The Oxford Book of Essays (Oxford Books of Prose)

The Oxford Book of Essays (Oxford Books of Prose)

The essay is one of the richest of literary forms. Its most obvious characteristics are freedom, informality, and the personal touch--though it can also find room for poetry, satire, fantasy, and sustained argument. All these qualities, and many others, are on display in The Oxford Book of Essays. The most wide-ranging collection of its kind to appear for many years, it includes 140 essays by 120 writers:... (more)

Personal History of Samuel Johnson

by Christopher Hibbert

A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides

A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides

by Samuel Johnson, James Boswell

Poet and essayist Samuel Johnson spent the autumn of 1773 touring the coast of Scotland with his future biographer, James Boswell. Each author produced an account of their sojourn, providing not only excellent travelogues and splendid historical records but also fascinating insights into a celebrated literary friendship.

Samuel Johnson and the Life of Reading

by Robert DeMaria

In Samuel Johnson and the Life of Reading, Robert DeMaria considers the surprising influence of one of the greatest readers in English literature. Johnson's relationship to books not only reveals much about his life and times, DeMaria contends, but also provides a dramatic counterpoint to modern reading habits. As a superior practitioner of the craft, Johnson provides a compelling model for how to read - indeed,... (more)

Samuel Johnson and the Impact of Print: (Originally published as Printing Technology, Letters, and Samuel Johnson)

Samuel Johnson and the Impact of Print: (Originally published as Printing Technology, Letters, and Samuel Johnson)

by Alvin B. Kernan

'Writing as he does with energy and grace, Kernan is a thoughtful guide to the world Johnson lived in and helped to make...What is best about Kernan's book is that it is up to date but not voguish; he has assimilated new scholarship but not been overpowered by it.' - W.B. Carnochan, The Times Literary Supplement

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: samuel johnson

According to Queeney

by Beryl Bainbridge

The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia

by Samuel Johnson

Boswell's Life of Johnson

by Greg Clingham, James Boswell

by James Boswell

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary: Selections from the 1755 Work That Defined the English Language

Samuel Johnson (Who Was...?)

by Andrew Billen

Johnson (Life & Times)

by Timothy Wilson Smith

BOSWELL'S PRESUMPTUOUS TASK.

by Adam Sisman

Dr. Johnson & Mr. Savage

by Richard Holmes

Johnson on Savage (Lives That Never Grow Old)

by Samuel Johnson

Dr Johnson's Dictionary: The Extraordinary Story of the Book That Defined the World

by Henry Hitchings

Viking Book of Poetry of the English-Speaking World

by Various Authors

A Life of James Boswell

by Peter Martin

Boswell's London Journal, 1762-1763

by James Boswell

Journals and Letters: Burney, Frances (Penguin Classics)

by Fanny Burney

The Oxford Book of Essays (Oxford Books of Prose)

Personal History of Samuel Johnson

by Christopher Hibbert

A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides

by Samuel Johnson, James Boswell

Samuel Johnson and the Life of Reading

by Robert DeMaria

Samuel Johnson and the Impact of Print: (Originally published as Printing Technology, Letters, and Samuel Johnson)

by Alvin B. Kernan