James Boswell
James Boswell (1740–1795) was a Scottish lawyer and writer, known for his biography of Samuel Johnson and for his journals. His Life of Samuel Johnson appeared in 1791. The recovery and publication of his private papers from the 1920s brought renewed attention to his own life and autobiographical writing.[1]
Life and writing
Boswell was born in Edinburgh into a family associated with the Auchinleck estate in Ayrshire. His father was a judge. As a young man he was attracted to the opportunities and social life of London. His stay there in 1762–1763, recorded in his London journal, followed an earlier visit in 1760.[1]
During the later 1760s he began practising as an advocate and became involved in the cause of Corsican independence.[2] His An Account of Corsica, published in 1768, combined a survey of the island with a journal of his 1765 journey to meet the Corsican leader Pascal Paoli. Boswell wanted the book to encourage British support for Corsica.[3]
His writing therefore includes both accounts of other people and records of his own experiences. The Johnson biography and the later publication of his journals are central to his literary reputation.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 James J. Caudle, “In the Midst of the Jovial Crowd”: Young James Boswell in London, 1762–1763, exhibition booklet, Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University (2013), introduction, PDF page 4.
- ↑ Yale Boswell Editions, The General Correspondence of James Boswell 1766–1769, Vol. 1: 1766–1767, description of the 1993 edition. Accessed 10 October 2026.
- ↑ James Boswell, An Account of Corsica, The Journal of a Tour to That Island, and Memoirs of Pascal Paoli, Oxford University Press (2006), ISBN 9780195165838; public edition abstract and contents. Accessed 10 October 2026.