Samuel Johnson : the life of an author /
Lipking's Samuel Johnson is the story of the man as he lived - and lives - in his work. Tracing Johnson's rocky climb from anonymity to fame, in the course of which he came to stand for both the greatness of English literature and the good sense of the common reader, the book shows how thi...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge, Mass. :
Harvard University Press,
1998.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Donated in memory of Rev. M.E. Conron |
| Summary: | Lipking's Samuel Johnson is the story of the man as he lived - and lives - in his work. Tracing Johnson's rocky climb from anonymity to fame, in the course of which he came to stand for both the greatness of English literature and the good sense of the common reader, the book shows how this life transformed the very nature of authorship. Beginning with the defiant letter to Chesterfield that made Johnson a celebrity, Samuel Johnson offers fresh readings of all the writer's major works, viewed through the lens of two ongoing preoccupations: the urge to do great deeds - and the sense that bold expectations are doomed to disappointment. Johnson steers between the twin perils of ambition and despondency. Mounting a challenge to the emerging industry that glorified and capitalized on Shakespeare, he stresses instead the playwright's power to cure the illusions of everyday life. All Johnson's works reveal his extraordinary sympathy with ordinary people. In his groundbreaking Dictionary, in his poems and essays, and in The Lives of the English Poets, we see Johnson becoming the key figure in the culture of literacy that reaches from his day to our own. |
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| Item Description: | The Cushing Library/Basbanes copy contains three pieces of ephemera. The Cushing Library/Basbanes Collection copy is part of the Nicholas A. Basbanes Collection. |
| Physical Description: | viii, 372 pages ; 25 cm Also issued online. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 309-361) and index. |
| ISBN: | 0674787773 9780674787773 0674001982 9780674001985 |