Boswell’s Life of Johnson

James Boswell wrote a biography of English author Dr. Samuel Johnson in 1791 titled The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. The book was an immediate critical and commercial success and marked a turning point in the evolution of the contemporary biography genre. It stands out for its in-depth descriptions of Johnson’s discourse. Although many have hailed it as the finest biography ever written in English, other contemporary critics disagree, saying the work cannot be regarded as a legitimate biography.In 1763, when Johnson was 54 years old, Boswell first saw his subject personally; he then conducted more studies to span the whole of Johnson’s life. Johnson’s life is heavily distorted in the biography since Boswell alters many of his quotations and even suppresses some of his comments. However, the book is regarded as both a significant literary work and a source of knowledge about Johnson and his day.Although there are several biographies and biographers of Samuel Johnson, the most well-known and often read one today is James Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson.