Rasselas and his companions leave the 'happy valley' in search of 'the choice of life'. Johnson's philosophical tale considers such things as the nature of poetry, the stability of reason, the immortality of the soul, and the pursuit of happiness. This new edition relates the novel to Johnson's life and the political and social context.

A biography of Samuel Johnson, a conversationalist, the rationalist epitome and the sage of the Enlightenment. It includes the periodical essays from the Rambler, Adventurer, and Idler . It also includes Johnson's moral fable, Rasselas; the Prefaces to the Dictionary and his edition of Shakespeare ; and, selections from Lives of the Poets .

Ranging from art to marriage to morality, this book demonstrates the brilliance, perception and wit that made Samuel Johnson the leading man of letters of his day, and one of the finest essayists in the English language. It offers wise words on confronting grief at the loss of a loved one.

A masterpiece of English Literature and one of Johnson's finest works. First published in 1759, this is a meditation on the human condition and the possibility of earthly happiness.

The Lives of the Poets is one of the greatest works of English criticism, but also one of the most diverting. This is the only one-volume paperback edition to make available Johnson's most substantial Lives in unabridged form. Texts are drawn from Roger Lonsdale's authoritative complete edition, and introduced by John Mullan.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary , published in 1755, marked a milestone in a language in desperate need of standards. This book contains a selection from the original, offering passages on subjects ranging from books and critics to dreams and ethics.

Words and meanings from Dr Johnson's Dictionary that time forgot. A revealing selection of 1400 entries in Dr Johnson's famous dictionary first published 250 years ago that show how meanings have changed, words have slipped out of use and attitudes have been transformed often with hilarious consequences.

Lives that Never Grow Old Part of a radical new series --edited by Richard Holmes -- that recovers the great classical tradition of English biography. Johnson's book is a biographical masterpiece, still thrilling to read and vividly alive.

This authoritative edition was formerly published in the acclaimed Oxford Authors series under the general editorship of Frank Kermode. It brings together a unique combination of Johnson's poetry and prose - all the major poems, complemented by essays, criticism, and fiction - to give the essence of his work and thinking.

Contains Samuel Johnson's 'A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland', and James Boswell's 'The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides'.

Book by Samuel Johnson, published in 1775. The Journey was the result of a three-month trip to Scotland that Johnson took with James Boswell in 1773. It contains Johnson's descriptions of the customs, religion, education, trade, and agriculture of a society that was new to him. The account in Boswell's diary, published after Johnson's death as The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, with Samuel Joh

Samuel Johnson and James Boswell spent the autumn of 1773 touring through the Lowlands and Highlands of Scotland as far west as the islands of Skye, Raasay, Coll, Mull, Inchkenneth and Iona. Here, they paint a picture of a society which was still almost unknown to the Europe of the Enlightenment.

Book by Samuel Johnson, published in 1775. The Journey was the result of a three-month trip to Scotland that Johnson took with James Boswell in 1773. It contains Johnson's descriptions of the customs, religion, education, trade, and agriculture of a society that was new to him. The account in Boswell's diary, published after Johnson's death as The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, with Samuel ...

This volume contains 24 of Samuel Johnson's essays on the great social, economic and political issues of his time. These include Taxation No Tyranny , An Introduction to the Political State of Great Britain , Thoughts on the Coronation of King George III , and The Patriot .