James Boswell Popular Books

James Boswell Biography & Facts

James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography the English writer Samuel Johnson, Life of Samuel Johnson, which is commonly said to be the greatest biography written in the English language. A great mass of Boswell's diaries, letters, and private papers were recovered from the 1920s to the 1950s, and their ongoing publication by Yale University has transformed his reputation. Early life Boswell was born in Blair's Land on the east side of Parliament Close behind St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh on 29 October 1740 (N.S.). He was the eldest son of a judge, Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck, and his wife Euphemia Erskine. As the eldest son, he was heir to his family's estate of Auchinleck in Ayrshire. Boswell's mother was a strict Calvinist, and he felt that his father was cold to him. As a child, he was delicate. Kay Jamison, Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins, in her book Touched with Fire, believes that Boswell may have suffered from bipolar disorder, and this condition would afflict him sporadically all through his life. At the age of five, he was sent to James Mundell's academy, an advanced institution by the standards of the time, where he was instructed in English, Latin, writing and arithmetic. The eight-year-old Boswell was unhappy there, and suffered from nightmares and extreme shyness. Consequently, he was removed from the academy and educated by a string of private tutors. The most notable and supportive of these, John Dunn, exposed Boswell to modern literature, such as The Spectator essays, and religion. Dunn was also present during Boswell's serious affliction of 1752, when he was confined to the town of Moffat in northern Dumfriesshire. This afforded Boswell his first experience of genuine society. His recovery was rapid and complete, and Boswell may have decided that travel and entertainment exerted a calming therapeutic effect on him. At thirteen, Boswell was enrolled into the arts course at the University of Edinburgh, studying there from 1753 to 1758. Midway through his studies, he suffered an episode of serious depression but recovered fully. Boswell had swarthy skin, black hair and dark eyes; he was of average height, and he tended to plumpness. His appearance was said to be alert and masculine. Upon turning nineteen, he was sent to continue his studies at the University of Glasgow, where he attended the lectures of Adam Smith. While at Glasgow, Boswell decided to convert to Catholicism and become a monk. Upon learning of this, his father ordered him home. Instead of obeying, though, Boswell ran away to London, where he spent three months, living the life of a libertine, before he was taken back to Scotland by his father. Upon returning, he was re-enrolled at Edinburgh University and forced by his father to sign away most of his inheritance in return for an allowance of £100 a year. To London and Europe On 30 July 1762, Boswell passed his oral law exam, after which his father decided to raise his allowance to £200 a year and permitted him to return to London. Boswell had started keeping a careful journal, written in full, and the volume covering this period was published in 1950 as the London Journal. On 16 May 1763, Boswell met Johnson for the first time. The pair became friends almost immediately, though Johnson became more of a parental figure in Boswell's eyes. In Boswell's Life of Johnson, he records the first conversational exchange between himself and Johnson as follows: [Boswell:] "Mr Johnson, I do indeed come from Scotland, but I cannot help it." [Johnson:] "That, Sir, I find, is what a very great many of your countrymen cannot help." On 6 August, Boswell departed England for Europe, with the initial goal of continuing his law studies at Utrecht University. He spent a year there and although desperately unhappy the first few months, eventually quite enjoyed his time in Utrecht. He mixed with prominent families, and pursued his studies industriously. Boswell admired the young widow Geelvinck who refused to marry him. He befriended and fell in love with Isabelle de Charrière, also known as Belle van Zuylen, a vivacious young Dutchwoman of unorthodox opinions, his social and intellectual superior. On 18 June 1764, Boswell set out from Utrecht by coach, and spent most of the next two years travelling around the continent, his Grand Tour. He travelled through Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Corsica and France. He arranged to meet European intellectuals Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire with a recommendation letter of Constant d'Hermenches, and made a pilgrimage to Rome, where his portrait was painted by George Willison. Boswell also travelled to Corsica and spent seven weeks there, meeting the Corsican resistance leader Pasquale Paoli, and sending reports to London newspapers. His diaries and correspondence of this time have been compiled into two books, Boswell in Holland and Boswell on the Grand Tour. Mature life Boswell returned to London in February 1766 accompanied by Rousseau's mistress, with whom he had a brief affair on the journey home. After spending a few weeks in the capital, he returned to Scotland, buying (or perhaps renting) the former house of David Hume on James Court on the Lawnmarket. He studied for his final law exam at Edinburgh University. He passed the exam and became an advocate. He practised the law in Edinburgh for over a decade, and most years spent his annual break in London, mingling with Johnson and many other London-based writers, editors, and printers, and furthering his literary ambitions. He contributed a great many items to newspapers and magazines, in London and Edinburgh. He found enjoyment in playing the intellectual rhyming game crambo with his peers. In 1768 he published An account of Corsica, the journal of a tour to that island, and memoirs of Pascal Paoli. The book contained both a history and description of Corsica, as well as an account of his visit. Boswell was a major supporter of the Corsican Republic. Following the island's invasion by France in 1768, Boswell attempted to raise public awareness and rally support for the Corsicans. He sent arms and money to the Corsican fighters, who were ultimately defeated at the Battle of Ponte Novu in 1769. Boswell attended the masquerade held at the Shakespeare Jubilee in Stratford-upon-Avon in September 1769 dressed as a Corsican Chief. He was also, much to the chagrin of his friend Johnson, a strong defender of the American Revolution. Some of his journal entries and letters from this period describe his amatory exploits. Thus, in 1767, in a letter to William Johnson Temple, he wrote, "I got myself quite intoxicated, went to a Bawdy-house and past a whole night in the arms of a Whore. She indeed was a fine strong spirited Girl, a Whore worthy of Boswell if Boswell must have a whore." A few years earlier, h.... Discover the James Boswell popular books. Find the top 100 most popular James Boswell books.