Samuel Johnson: Selected Writings (21st-Century Oxford Authors) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199609519 ISBN 13: 9780199609512

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2018

Synopsis

The Samuel Johnson volume in the 21st-Century Oxford Authors series offers a generous 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. In keeping with the the approach of the series, the texts are presented in chronological order and the text chosen is, wherever possible, the text of the first published version. As well as an expansive introduction and a detailed chronology of Johnson's life, David Womersley provides helpful annotation to guide and orient the reader.

About this title

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.

Review

"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 that 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 ... Womersley's positioning of these texts, based on attested dates of composition rather than publication, possesses biographical and critical coherence, providing the reader with a sense of Johnson's exceptional versatility in public and private life." -- 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

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0199609519
• ISBN 13: 9780199609512
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 1344
• Editor: Womersley David