The first complete edition of poetry by Samuel Johnson, meticulously edited and annotated
In 1941, when E. L. McAdam and the late D. Nichol Smith published their edition of Samuel Johnson’s poems, no one could have foreseen the surge in Johnsonian studies in the next generation, much less the discovery of additional Johnson and Boswell manuscripts at Malahide Castle. The present volume is thus the first truly complete edition of Johnson’s poems to appear.
Meticulously edited and annotated, the poems are presented in chronological order, enabling the reader to follow the growth of Johnson’s poetic powers, from school exercises to the great satires, the occasional verse, and the Latin lyrics of his old age.
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) was a poet, essayist, biographer, and editor. E. L. McAdam, Jr., is professor of English at New York University. George Milne and McAdam collaborated on Johnson’s Dictionary: A Modern Selection.
“In every way this is a model of scholarship; furthermore, it enables the reader, for the first time, to trace Johnson’s poetic development from his schoolboy exercises to his last Latin lyrics. It shows that Johnson was a more considerable and original poet than has hitherto been generally realised.”—The Spectator
“Its scholarly presentation ensures that it worthily fills its necessary place in the series.”—Times Literary Supplement
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