Customer Reviews

Samuel Johnson: The Life of an Author

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Lipking has written a "writer's life," examining Johnson not from the viewpoint of celebrity, but as a history of his writing, and "career development" as an author. Lipking's thesis is that the transformations Johnson underwent in his career went a long way in shaping what we think of authors, and in that interest spends the bulk of his time examining Johnson's written words. While one may initially think this approach is redundant with Kernan's ("Samuel Johnson and the Impact of Print"), in fact Lipking is far less concerned with the publishing industry and more concerned with Johnson's writings themselves. A more direct comparison might be made to DeMaria's "Samuel Johnson," but even there the comparison is weak. Like Lipking, DeMaria analyzes Johnson's writings, but Lipking is less concerned about context, and concentrates far more on the writings.

This is a terrific book. It is a finely wrought analysis of Johnson's life and contribution as an author -- admiring but by no means uncritical. The focus on authorship provides a useful thread throughout the book and enables Lipking to relate his discussion of Johnson to other trends and controversies in scholarship.

For a reader like me, this book represents an ideal "step up" after having made my way through standard biographical treatments of Johnson. Highly recommended.