Samuel Johnson

Wonderful biography!

There are a lot of biographies and critical books about Dr. Johnson, but Wain's, though not "scholarly", is the best for the common reader, in part because Wain, being a novelist, knows how to tell a story. Also worth looking up is Wain's volume of selections from Boswell's Diaries, which are too voluminous to be read entire. Surprisingly, Wain's novels are not very good. Even HURRY ON DOWN, his most successful, is so dated now as to be almost unreadable. Compare it with Kingsley Amis' LUCKY JIM, which is still a very good read, and you'll see what I mean. Would that more second-rate novelists would tackle literary criticism and biography. Angus Wilson is probably the best example of a minor novelist who wrote first-rate critical biographies (on Dickens and Kipling especially), but C.P. Snow is excellent on Trollope, as is V.S. Pritchett on Turgenev and Balzac.

This was a wonderful history, weaving in biography and history. The author did a great job og showing both the strengths and weaknesses of Samuel Johnson, all without a critical attitude.

I liked the pace and style of it; clear, cogent, and well researched. I would have liked to have tea with the author.

Perhaps as much a novel as a biography, this is still the most enjoyable introduction to Dr. Johnson I have found. I loved it, and it is still on my shelf 45 years later. Read and enjoy, and do not over-analyze. Dr. Johnson will repay you to the end of your life.

This book was my introduction to Johnson forty-some years ago and it's still on my shelf. I've read other books about Johnson, but this is the one that I'm thinking of re-reading.

the best biography I have read of Johnson, apart from Boswell's, and one of the best biographies ever. The book is very well written. The writer likes Johnson without idolatry. He notes his subject's imperfections. The reader gets to love Johnson. Wain gives us lots of information on how he lived and worked, his circle of friends, rich and poor, his "family" composed of Frank, the african boy Johnson more or less adopted, and the others that he supported and took care of, and what life was like in eighteenth century England. We imagine Johnson sitting among others, holding forth. We grieve when he grieves. He was very funny, very witty, and very astute about the human condition.

Beautifully written, erudite without being scholastic and poignant without being sentimental. If you're looking for the ideal introduction, this is highly recommended.

Quality

Enjoyed the book very much