Samuel Johnson is a towering figure of eighteenth-century literature. As well as the celebrated Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson was the leading literary critic of his time, and a celebrated author who contributed to almost every genre from poetry to political pamphleteering. At the same time, an enduring legend developed around him, culminating in James Boswell's classic biography. This book offers a concise introduction to Johnson's many-sided work, and its complex and rich hi...