Samuel Johnson

Stephen, Leslie, 1832-1904Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 339K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Samuel Johnson by Leslie StephenAuthor: Stephen, Leslie, 1832-1904,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Feb 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is a biography of Samuel Johnson written by the British critic Leslie Stephen, an important text in nineteenth-century English literary biography. With a critic's eye, the author traces Johnson's life, character, and literary career in prose marked by the restraint and judgment typical of Victorian biography, presenting both the subject's thought and circle and the author's concern with literary reputation and the evaluation of character. For readers, the book's value lies in offering an early and representative life of Johnson that can be read against accounts by Boswell and others, showing how different biographical traditions shape the image of the same man of letters. It suits students of English literature, devotees of life-writing, and readers interested in the eighteenth-century English literary world. Read it with attention to how the author selects material and judges his subject, rather than as the sole authoritative life.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of English literature and enthusiasts of English letters
Readers interested in the eighteenth-century English literary world and the lives of men of letters
Readers studying the history of biography and literary criticism
General readers who want another version of Johnson's life

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking Boswell-style detailed firsthand records
Readers who need contemporary scholarly annotation and the latest textual scholarship
Readers impatient with nineteenth-century English biographical prose

Reading tips

First learn a basic chronology of Johnson's life, then read this book to judge the author's selections.
Read it alongside Boswell's account of Johnson and note the differences in biographical perspective.
As you read, record the author's judgments of his subject's character and works as material for the history of criticism.
The English original can be read chapter by chapter; after each, summarize the author's core judgments in your own words.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How does this life of Johnson differ from Boswell's version?

Boswell's version is known for long acquaintance and firsthand records, rich in detail; Stephen's is a critic's biography, more concerned with tracing the life and evaluating the man, and differs in length and perspective. Reading the two together shows how different biographical traditions shape the same man of letters.

Can I read this book without knowing Johnson?

Yes, but first look at a chronology of Johnson's life or an encyclopedia entry to grasp the basics of his dictionary work, criticism, and literary circle. That makes it easier to understand why the author highlights certain events and keeps you from being overwhelmed by names and titles.

How difficult is the English?

It is nineteenth-century English biographical prose, with long sentences and fairly formal diction, but not altogether difficult. University-level English reading ability is enough to make progress; if it feels hard, read a Chinese translation or a Chinese introduction first, then return to selected key chapters in the original.

Is this book suitable for people studying life-writing?

Yes, as a case study. The author is a critic, and the biography shows the combination of selection, evaluation of character, and literary judgment, reflecting the conventions of nineteenth-century English biography. It can be read against modern biographical theory to analyze how biography constructs its subject's image.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Stephen, Leslie, 1832-1904 Author

Leslie Stephen (1832–1904) was a Victorian-era English author and literary critic; details of his life and education are limited in publicly available sources. Twelve of his works are held here, spanning literary criticism and intellectual history. The three volumes of Hours in a Library discuss books and reading in an essayistic style that is unhurried yet incisive, while his biographical studies Samuel Johnson and Alexander Pope combine accounts of the subjects' lives with analysis of their writings. The two volumes of The English Utilitarians trace the development of British utilitarian thought in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and English Literature and Society in the Eighteenth Century examines changes in literary taste and fashion against their social background. His writing is known for solid scholarship and clear prose, and is often grouped among inspirational and personal-growth titles; it has had some influence on later English literary criticism and intellectual history.