A Life of James Boswell [Import] [Hardcover]

Peter Martin (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; First Edition edition (1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0297818090
• ISBN-13: 978-0297818090
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,505,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Writer Writing About a Great Writer, January 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Life of James Boswell (Hardcover)

James Boswell's "Life of Johnson" is commonly regarded as the finest biography in the English language. For 155 years after his death, Boswell was known primarily for this great work. But then in 1949 through 1951, in a series of three separate discoveries, Boswell's journal was found. Boswell is now also regarded as one of history's best diarists. Boswell was a libertine and at times a heavy drinker who, no matter how inebriated he became at the London Literary Club, where he listened to Garrick, Goldsmith, Burke, Reynolds and other brilliant men discuss the topics of the day, would race home to enter their conversation in his journal. So he preserved much of Samuel Johnson's wit ("Fishing: a stick and a string, a fish on one end and a fool on the other.") and philosophy. Peter Martin concludes that Boswell's journal is the best reading that exists regarding London in the late 1700s. Martin's book is an exhaustively researched and beautifully written account of an eccentric, gifted man.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dazzling, March 5, 2006

By 

Philip Leetch - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Life of James Boswell (Hardcover)

Literary biographies tend to disappoint me and often leave me feeling as if I and the subject of the biography have been buried in details, but this one is utterly readable and brings the irrepressible and obviously very irritating Boswell alive. The book is beautifully printed as well. It was a very great pleasure to read- and Boswell does deserve attention having himself written one of the best books in English.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great biography of the great biographer, January 1, 2001

By 

Dennis Mangan (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Life of James Boswell (Hardcover)

Anyone who has read and been fascinated with Boswell's Life of Johnson will do well to read this book.Peter Martin has done a bang-up job of bringing Boswell to life, extensively quoting from his journals and letters, narrating the stories of his Grand Tour,the meetings with Rousseau and Voltaire,and his friendships with the likes of Burke, Reynolds,Goldsmith,Garrick,and of course,Johnson. Boswell's "hypochondria",or chronic depression, is a main topic,and we see how it affected his marriage,his friendships,and his writings.A must read for all Johnsonians and anglophiles.