Customer Reviews

Samuel Johnson: A Life

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It is to civilization's benefit that biographies of Samuel Johnson abound, especially in and near the 300th anniversary year of his birth.

David Nokes provides his version of the life in a straightforward text drawn mainly from the letters and other published material of the era related directly to Dr. Johnson. However, there is little help here for the common reader describing the times in which he lived. And, Professor Nokes is one who values the importance of Hester Thrale, far above that of James Boswell, to Doctor Johnson's actual life. (While the Professor is most likely correct on this point, I would much rather have spent an evening or two bending an elbow in London with Boswell than with Thrale.)

This is a good, competent biography; but I would first recommend to interested readers last year's effort by Jeffrey Meyers over the one reviewed here. And I would even more highly recommend "Selected Writings of Samuel Johnson" as edited by Peter Martin. Lastly, please read Boswell's famous work if this book lies unread in your library. (If not in your library, buy it.)

Difficult as it may be to write an uninspiring biography of Samuel Johnson, David Nokes has almost succeeded in this book, which is redeemed more by the occasional flashes of Johnson's own wit than by any great felicity of style on the part of the biographer. Even Harold Bloom, in praising Nokes' book, could find no more flattering adjective than "workmanlike" to describe Nokes' writing. One of the great pleasures of reading about a man like Johnson is to become immersed in the great man's overwhelming personality, wit, conversation, and aphorisms. Unfortunately, Nokes's biography doesn't come up to such a standard.

What the reader does get, in reading Nokes, is a workmanlike (there's that word again) account of the progression of Johnson's life; Nokes builds the structure by piling up detail and incident, with some but not a lot of generalizing and interpretation. There's nothing wrong with that approach in general, but in this particular case I found the result a bit too uninspiring to give it a strong recommendation.

I bought this book after reading a lavish review of this book by Harold Bloom (titled: The Critic's Critic) in
the NY Times Book Review (Nov.8, 2009). I was disappointed with the early sections of the book, not just because of
my large expectations. In fact until it reaches a stage in Johnson's life when he becomes free from his nagging
poverty I found the book uninteresting. Following Johnson's literary success aand recognition after the publication
of the English language dictionary, the book picks up some momentum and becomes more interesting.

I thought there was far too much attention given to Johnson's deep relations with Mrs. Thrale. Far too little is
said about his servant Frank Barber to whom Johnson must have felt a special bond, having bequethed Barber most
of his wealth. One is left to wonder why so little is said about the latter relationship. Could it be because
not much material in terms of correspondence is available to shed light on this relationship? It should be observed that
the author Nokes relies heavily on correspondence (with very extensive quotes) for much of the book.

A positive feature of the book is the language partially helped by Johnson's own writings. Throughout the book I
could sense that the author is a gifted writer of the English language.