The Letters of Samuel Johnson: Volume I: 1731-1772
Samuel Johnson author Bruce Redford editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:27th Feb '92
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
The most accurate and comprehensive collection of Johnson's letters
A collection of Johnson's letters. Including over fifty letters or parts of letters, scores of texts, and illuminating annotation, this literary event aims to deepen our understanding of Samuel Johnson, man of letters.This is the first scholarly edition of Johnson's letters to appear for forty years. It presents new letters, more accurate texts, and more up-to-date annotation than its predecessors. Fifty-two previously unknown letters or parts of letters have come to light since R. W. Chapman's edition (Oxford, 1952). Such `new' letters, however, are scarcely more important than those for which only inferior printed texts or copies of varying reliability have previously been available. This edition offers scores of texts transcribed for the first time from the original documents - a statistic of special importance in the case of Johnson's revealing letters to Hester Thrale, many of which have only been known in expurgated form. For the first time, substantive deletions are recorded, yielding intimate knowledge of Johnson's stylistic procedures, mental habits, and chains of association. Furthermore, detailed ownership credits document the current disposition of the manuscripts, hundreds of which have changed hands during the last four decades. Finally, the annotation of the letters incorporates the many significant discoveries of post-war Johnsonian scholarship, as well as decoding references that had resisted explanation before. The result is a more accurate and more comprehensive understanding of Samuel Johnson, man of letters.
`The best letters in this magnificent compendium, are those addressed to his beloved Mrs Thrale ...' A.N. Wilson, London Evening Standard.
`This is an extraordinary collection which deserves a place in the library of anyone who is interested in Johnson, or the 18th century, or humankind itself.' Peter Ackroyd, The Times
`Our American fellow-speakers of English have done Johnson proud in the past. Now, with this collection, published by the Clarendon Press ... they have done him proud again.' J. Enoch Powell, Sunday Times
`the meticulous recording of Johnson's crossings-out and corrections and of the present whereabouts of manuscripts are valuable and pleasing on their own account.' Lorna Sage, Observer
`As an act of scholarship, the work requires no pleading on its behalf.' Giles Smith, Independent on Sunday
`There have been serious editions of Dr Johnson's correspondence before ... but this one, done in an appropriately grand manner, supersedes them all.' Frank Kermode
`[This] new edition of his correspondence, the most complete so far, brings out the many-sidedness of the man. ... Clearly then, Chapman's [edition] has been superseded by this new edition. ... the majestic heights of Redford's great new edition of Johnson's letters.' Anthony Curtis, Financial Times
`sumptuously well-edited collection' Jonathan Keates, The Independent
`The time was ripe for a new gathering, and Professor Bruce Redford has carried out the task with stylish efficiency. ...printers and designers deserve all praise for the elegance of presentation. Good paper, robust bindings, and a large type-face, all combine to make the edition a joy to handle.' alan Bell, The Spectator
`Bruce Redford's new edition of Johnson's Letters is, as one, would expect superior in several wasy to R. W. Chapman's 1952 edition. ...the letters in these volumes are well spaced and handsomely printed ...Fifty-two new letters have been added to the canon, of which undoubtedly the most important are the twelve to Charlotte Lennox confirming Johnson's significance as a promoter of female writers. David Nokes, Times Literary Supplement
`this a scholarly edition in all its splendour, prepared with infinite pains and a daunting erudition ... the books themselves are solid, elegant, eminently legible, a great credit to their printer. I do not think I have ever reviewed any book with greater pleasure.' Patrick O'Brian, Daily Telegraph
'edited by Bruce Redford, are an indispensable complement, without which the rest loses much of its value - one does not see Johnson plain. They shed new light on him from every direction ... this is a scholarly edition in all its splendour, prepared with infinite pains and a daunting erudition ... the books themselves are solid, elegant, eminently legible, a great credit to their printer. I do not think I have ever reviewed any book with greater pleasure.' Patrick O'Brian, Daily Telegraph
'The new edition of Johnson's Letters is clear-headed and rational. New letters have been found, including six letters to the novelist and critic Charlotte Lennox.' London Review of Books
`splendidly produced, and offers a rare chance to glimpse the great man without benefit of Boswell.' Lorna Sage, Observer
'The publishing event of the year ... was the arrival of the first three (of five) volumes ... the first proper, modern edition of the great man's letters to a wide range of friends ... wonderful books.' Andrew Marr, The Independent Weekend
'the big event of 1992, the first three volumes of Dr Johnson's Letters, edited by Bruce Redford ... They are handsome, scholarly and radical enough to give a fresh view.' Judge Stephen Tumim, Sunday Express
'These, the first three volumes of five, have been edited with skill, acumen, and learning. Handsome in design, consistent and economical in procedures, respectful.' The New Criterion, September 1992
'three splendid volumes ... All this material is clearly indispensable for Johnson scholars. Much more importantly though, any reader of the sequence of these letters will soon gain a growing intimacy with Johnson the man. Professor Redford has put not only the Johnsonian specialist but any reader with an interest in Johnson very much in his debt. It is difficult finally to avoid superlatives about the production quality of these volumes, which are beautifully typeset on excellent paper and (rare praise indeed) most reasonably priced.' Tom Woodman, University of Reading, British Journal for Eighteenth Century Studies, Vol. 17, Part 1, Spring 1994
ISBN: 9780198112877
Dimensions: 252mm x 168mm x 36mm
Weight: 1040g
468 pages