James Boswell
James Boswell was born on October 29th, 1740. James passed away May 19th, 1795 at 54 years old. James Boswell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Boswell attended the University of Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow, and Utrecht University.
James Boswell was a lawyer, biographer, and diarist. He’s best known for penning the biography called
Life of Samuel Johnson, commonly referred to as the best biography ever written in English.
During the course of his 54 year long life, he met an amazing amount of the powerful and great, the literati, the philosophers, the advocates, and the academics of his time.
He married Margaret Montgomerie, his cousin in 1769. Then, in 1782, he became the 9th Laird of Auchinleck, his ancestral home.
James published a journal of Corsica, and memoirs of Pascal Paoli. It contained both a description and history of Corsica up to 1768, as well as him accounting for his visit to the island. James was a major supporter of the Corsican Republic.
He met Samuel Johnson for the first time on May 16, 1763 in Thomas Davies’ bookshop located near Covent Garden.
When
Life of Samuel Johnson was finally published in 1791, its style was unique as unlike other biographies of the time, it directly incorporated conversations that Boswell noted down for his journals. He also included far more human and personal details than those to which contemporary readers had been accustomed.
Rather than write a much more fact based record of Johnson’s public life in the style of the era, he painted a much more intimate and personal portrait of the man than was typically found in biographies of the period.
Found by scholars during the 1920s, his long lost journals was one of the major literary finds of the whole 20th century. In his honest and detailed journal entries from early in the 1760s until right before he died, we get the man’s unique first-hand observations of life and the personalities during the 18th century’s second half. These journals would still secure his fame for posterity, even without his Johnson biography.
Life of Samuel Johnson reveals one of the towering figures of English literature, and is revealed with unparalleled originality and immediacy, in a biography to which we owe the majority of our knowledge of the man himself. Through this series of richly detailed anecdotes, he emerges as this sociable figure, vigorously engaging and is fencing with such major contemporaries like Burney, Garrick, Burke, Goldsmith, and Boswell himself, of course.
But obsessions and anxieties also darkened Samuel’s private hours, and James’ attentiveness to each and every facet of Samuel’s character makes this biography just as moving as it is entertaining.
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- Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
- J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter Series.
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- Sue Grafton, author of the Kinsey Millhone Series.
- James Lee Burke, author of the Dave Robicheaux Series.
James Boswell: F.A.Q
When was James Boswell Born?
James Boswell was born on October 29th, 1740.
When did James Boswell die?
James Boswell died on May 19th, 1795 at 54 years old.
Where was James Boswell Born?
James Boswell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
What was the first book James Boswell wrote?
The first book written by James Boswell was London Journal, 1762 - 1763, published in 1763.
What was the most recent book James Boswell wrote?
His most recently released work was No Abolition of Slavery; Or the Universal Empire of Love (a short story) on July 18th, 2023.
How many books has James Boswell written?
James Boswell has written 15 books. 10 books in the Boswell's Journals Series, 1 Standalone Novel, 2 books in the Poetry, 2 books in the Non-Fiction Books.