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Index
Cover
Title page
Dedication page
Contents
1. An inscription over the door, to show what kind of a Book this is
2. Of personal oddity, which is no obstacle to personal authority
3. The community of pains and pleasures – our subject’s Origins and Upbringing, with some speculations on what we may learn from them
4. The description of a young man’s disappointment, with some sidelights courtesy of a certain Switzer, Dr Jung
5. A philosophical meditation upon the nature and rewards of Accident, in which are used the strange words ‘Galilean serendipity’
6. In which Samuel Johnson, being entrusted with a mission of Love, proceeds to execute it; with what success will hereinafter appear
7. The mournful truth of London life: or, an author embarks upon the sea of Literature (with but a smattering of wormy cliché)
8. In which we observe the peculiarities of Friendship, manifest in Samuel Johnson’s association with the notorious Mr Richard Savage
9. A resting-place – where the reader may take refreshment, and where vexed matters are resolved
10. Of Genius, with sundry other scenes from the farce of life
11. In which the craft of literary biography is expounded
12. An excursion to the Theatre, with some brief diversions into other arts
13. In which we ponder the making of a Dictionary – with thoughts on the true meaning of lexicography and the particular flavours of its solitude
14. A chapter about Grief (for one word must serve where in truth no assemblage of words will be sufficient)
15. Containing some essential points of information on the life of reading, whereamong are the most fugacious mentions of Mrs Elizabeth Montagu and even Mr Stephen King
16. A chapter that reflects on the uses of Sickness, and of Patrons
17. An essay, or ‘loose sally of the mind’, upon the methods of a moralist, in which are considered prose style and its higher functions
18. Some further thoughts on the Rambler and the intricacies of ordinary life
19. A short musing, upon exemption from oblivion (or what is otherwise called Memory)
20. Containing much to exercise the reader’s thoughts upon the questions of Fear and Sanity
21. A chapter one might, in a more facetious spirit, have chosen to label ‘Shakespeare matters’
22. In which Samuel Johnson idles, to some avail, not least by enquiring into the soul of advertisement and our artificial passions
23. Of tea and Abyssinia – a chapter about Choices, in which we have chosen to include the word ‘lumbersome’ (a curio you may reasonably think a mistake for ‘cumbersome’)
24. In which the definition of network provides an opportunity to appraise certain marvels of the twenty-first century, not least the inventions of Mr Mark Zuckerberg
25. On the business of a Club – being not ‘a heavy stick; a staff intended for offence’ but rather ‘an assembly of good fellows’ (where the staff may cause offence, without intent)
26. A chapter upon Samuel Johnson’s lawyerly inclinations, in which we may wonder at the conduct of Signor Giuseppe Baretti and the philosophy of Dr George Berkeley – of whom, we can be sure, only the latter was fit to be a bishop
27. In which at last we attend to the life and loves of Hester Thrale, a foisonous fund of Anecdote
28. Some ruminations upon scepticism, amid which appear the names of both Sir Thomas Browne and Scratching Fanny
29. A short chapter on politics and public life, wherein the radical John Wilkes does rear his head
30. Containing a sketch of Dr Johnson’s visit to the Caledonian regions – and matters pertinent thereunto
31. On the fleeting nature of Pleasure and the state of Felicity
32. In which thought is applied to an awkward question: whether Dr Johnson subscribed to the doctrines of S****ism
33. Upon Charity – whether it be cold, and how it is performed
34. A chapter about Boredom, which may serve to remind us that there are no truly uninteresting things
35. Of Johnson among the Bluestockings – though it behoves us to remark that he did not refer to them thus, and that we might now be wise to forswear this somewhat disdainous appellation
36. One of our longer chapters, directed with no little incongruity to the matter of life’s brevity
37. Some thoughts upon the business of Cultural Legislation, which is less atrocious than it sounds
38. In which this account of the great Johnson is concluded, with a Farewell to the reader
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Notes
About the Author
Also by Henry Hitchings
Copyright page
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