This volume in the 21st-Century Oxford Authors series offers students an authoritative, comprehensive selection of the work of Samuel Johnson (1709-1784). Accompanied by full scholarly apparatus, the edition enables students to study Johnson's work in the order in which it was written, and, wherever possible, using the text of the first published version. The volume presents a selection of Johnson's most important writings, drawn from all periods of his life. It reflects almost completely the range of literary forms in which Johnson wrote, including poetic translation, biographical sketches, literary criticism, and letters. It includes a broad selection from The Rambler (17501752) and The Idler (17581760), along with the travel narrative A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (1775), and a selection from The Lives of the Poets (1781). David Womersleys introduction explores how Johnsons mastery of style enabled him to adopt various personae, sometimes simultaneously, in order to communicate through many different genres and registers. Johnson is shown to be an active participant in the philosophical and social currents of his time. This selection reveals an author driven by deeply-held principles, concerned with how the ethical, political, and affective dimensions of language go beyond vocabulary and reach into the lives of its users. Explanatory notes and commentary are included to enhance the study, understanding, and enjoyment of these works, and the edition includes an Introduction to the life of Johnson, and a Chronology.

About the Author
David Womersley is the Thomas Warton Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford, and a fellow of St. Catherine's College.

Reviews
Womersley's elegant introduction interweaves biography with the literary forms that Johnson often single-handedly transformed, with compelling reflections on the anomalies and estrangements in his prose ... a richly representative volume * Jayne Lewis, Studies in English Literature *
The astonishing range of [Johnson's] work is fairly represented in David Womersley's selection ... By giving each of them due weight, this superb new edition--a slab of a book--suggests a way of putting Johnson's life and his writing back together again. * Freya Johnston, London Review of Books *
This is easily the most comprehensive, visually attractive anthology of Johnson's poetry and prose ever produced. Its generous length permits inclusion of numerous less-known pieces; it is physically compact and easy to hold in the hands; and it includes black-and-white illustrations of title pages, a manuscript page, and a printer's proof page. * CHOICE *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198859246
Author David Womersley
Format Paperback
Page Count 1344
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1364g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 136mm * 48mm