Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland - Softcover

Johnson, Samuel; Boswell, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0395051819 ISBN 13: 9780395051818

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin College Div, 1965

Synopsis

"I mentioned our design to Voltaire," wrote Boswell. "He looked at me as if I had talked of going to the North Pole ..."

As it turned out, Johnson enjoyed their Scottish journey (although the land was not quite so wild and barbaric as perhaps he had hoped), and Boswell delighted in it. The year was 1773, they were sixty-three and thirty-two years old, and had been friends for ten years. Their journals, published together here, perfectly complement each other. Johnson's majestic prose and hawk eye for curious detail take in everything from the stone arrowheads found in the Hebrides, to the 'medicinal' waters of Loch Ness and "the mischiefs of emigration." Meanwhile, it is very lucky that as Johnson was observing Scotland, Boswell was observing Johnson. His record is perceptive, highly entertaining and full of sardonic wit; for him, as for us, it is an appetizer for The Life of Johnson.

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About this title

Product Description:

Two of the eighteenth century's preeminent writers spent the autumn of 1773 touring Scotland together. Being literary gentlemen, they took extensive notes. Five years away from producing his famous dictionary, Samuel Johnson hoped to encounter romantic wilderness scenes by "going where nobody goes and seeing what nobody sees." James Boswell, Johnson's biographer, reveled in the opportunity to visit his native country in the company of his mentor. Their respective accounts of their sojourn offer not only a taste of travel writing at its finest but also fascinating insights into a celebrated literary friendship.
At the time of their trip, Johnson was 63, Boswell was 32, and the two had known each other for over a decade. The Scotland they explored on their 83-day journey—a rugged territory held down by a string of forts—was largely unknown to Europeans. The authors' perceptive observations on the land and its people represent a valuable historical record of a vanished time and place as well as an engaging armchair adventure.

From the Back Cover:

Johnson's 'Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland' is not only a narrative of personal experience, rare in the canon of his writings, but also a deeply reflective survey of the Highlands and Isles--their social and economic structure, their traditions and customs. Beyond this, Johnson undertakes a subtle, penetrating analysis of a people in the throes of change, and examines the predicament they face as a result.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin College Div
• Publication date: 1965
• ISBN 10: 0395051819
• ISBN 13: 9780395051818
• Binding: Paperback