A Life of James Boswell Book

James Boswell (1740-1795), author of The Life of Samuel Johnson, remains one of the most celebrated biographers in modern literary history. In his monumental A Life of James Boswell, Peter Martin takes on the task of writing the biographer's biography, of telling the story of a man whose numerous journals (1762-1795) are renowned for their vivid evocation of his life and times. Martin's account is meticulous, dividing Boswell's Life into four discrete periods: "Journey to the Promised Land 1740-1763", "Travel and Marriage 1763-1769", "Stagnation: the Middle Years 1769- 1782', and "Biographer and Laird of Auchinleck: Triumph and Despair 1782-1795". This broad-brush approach has the advantage of bringing some coherence to Boswell's complicated, often frenetic, life: the dismal relationship with his family and early resistance to a career in law; the studies in London and Utrecht; the meetings with Rousseau and Voltaire and his powerful friendship with Johnson; his salacious sexuality and fits of morbid depression; his passion for literary London. Somehow, though, the vibrancy and intellectual fervour of Boswell's career fails to come through. The scope of this biography is remarkable. But its sheer wealth of (sometimes disconnected) detail, the plethora of incidents recounted without the author's comment or analysis, work to obscure the psychological, cultural and political purchase of Boswell's life and writing. -- Vicky LebeauRead More