Students, scholars, and general readers alike will find the New Cambridge Companion to Samuel Johnson deeply informed and appealingly written. Each newly commissioned chapter explores aspects of Johnson's writing and thought, including his ethical grasp of life, his views of language, the roots of his ideas in Renaissance humanism, and his skeptical-humane style. Among the themes engaged are history, disability, gender, politics, race, slavery, Johnson's representation in art, and the significance of the Yale Edition. Works discussed include Johnson's poetry and fiction, his moral essays and political tracts, his Shakespeare edition and Dictionary, and his critical, biographical, and travel writing. A narrated Further Reading provides an informative guide to the study of Johnson, and a substantial Introduction highlights how his literary practice, philosophical values, and life experience provide a challenge to readers new and established. Through fresh, integrated insights, this authoritative guide reveals the surprising contemporaneity of Johnson's thought.

Deeply informed and accessible, this Companion unveils Johnson's strikingly progressive engagement in literature, politics, and society.

About the Author
Greg Clingham is emeritus Professor of English at Bucknell University, Pennsylvania, and a Life member of Clare Hall, Cambridge. He is the author or editor of fourteen books and numerous essays on Johnson, Dryden, Boswell, Lady Anne Barnard, Sir George Macartney, memory, historiography, orientalism, translation, archives, and the history of the book. He has been awarded fellowships by the NEH, ASECS, the Houghton Library, Harvard, the Beinecke Library, Yale, St. Edmund's College, Cambridge, the Bogliasco Foundation, and St. Andrews University. Between 1996 and 2018 Dr Clingham was director of Bucknell University Press. Presently he is editor of the series 18th-Century Moments. Dr Clingham's contribution to eighteenth century studies is recognised in A Clubbable Man: Essays on Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture in Honor of Greg Clingham (2022).

Reviews
'This book functions not as a replacement of but as a companion to the 1997 publication. It is an excellent way to introduce newcomers to Johnsonian scholarship, and a useful way for old hands to catch up on current conversations. The contributions are all well focused and clearly written, making the collection accessible to undergraduates as well as professionals. ... Highly recommended.' J. T. Lynch, Choice



Book Information
ISBN 9781108965781
Author Greg Clingham
Format Paperback
Page Count 275
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 430g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 151mm * 15mm