With his wit, eloquence and shrewd perception of contemporary morals, Samuel Johnson was the most versatile of Augustan writers. His dictionary, dramas and poetry established his reputation, but it was the essays published in The Rambler, The Adventurer and The Idler that demonstrated the range of his talent. Tackling ethical questions such as the importance of self-knowledge, awareness of mortality, the role of the novel, and, in a lighter vein, marriage, sleep and deceit, these brilliant and thought-provoking essays are a mirror of the time in which they were written and a testament to Johnson’s stature as the leading man of letters of his age.
Books in English for every reader
Ready to explore new worlds? Dive into our books in English.
Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784) es, tras Shakespeare, la figura literaria más importante de Inglaterra. Su fama ha quedado perpetuada por la famosísima obra de James Boswell La vida de Samuel Johnson (Acantilado, 2007). Ensayista, poeta y filósofo, su ópera magna es, en cambio, un Diccionario de la lengua inglesa (1755). En 1759 publicó su única novela, La historia de Rásselas, príncipe de Abisinia, de alto contenido filosófico y que es comparada y confrontada con el Cándido, de Voltaire, su contemporáneo.