The Cambridge Introduction to Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson is a towering figure of eighteenth-century literature. As well as the celebrated Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson was the leading literary critic of his time, and a celebrated author who contributed to almost every genre from poetry to political pamphleteering. At the same time, an enduring legend developed around him, culminating in James Boswell's classic biography. This book offers a concise introduction to Johnson's many-sided work, and its complex and rich historical contexts. Presenting Johnson in his different guises – Journalist, Poet and Storyteller, Scholar, Critic, Political and Social Thinker, Biographer and Legend – it carefully guides the reader through Johnson's writings, and provides detailed expert treatments of his major texts.

• Covers the entire range of media in which Johnson worked, from journalism and sermons to scholarship and criticism, providing an overview of a writer often only seen in occasional glimpses or known through quotations
• Presents an accessible introduction to a daunting figure and encourages reader to encounter Johnson for themselves
• Acknowledges recent scholarship on matters such as Johnson's poetry and criticism, providing the reader with an up-to-date resource