WORKS BY JOHNSON
- “Messiah” (1728), a translation into Latin of Pope’s poem
- A Voyage to Abyssinia (1735), translation from French into English of Jeronimo Lobo’s work
- “London” (poem) (1738)
- Gentleman’s Magazine, staff writer and editor (1738-1745)
- An Account of the Life of Mr Richard Savage (1744)
- Plan for a Dictionary of the English Language (1747)
- The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749)
- Irene (play) (1749)
- The Rambler (1750-1752)
- authoritative edition on Kindle, ed. Paul Rodriguez
- The Adventurer (1753-1754)
- A Dictionary of the English Language (1755)
- online version in progress, ed. Brandi Besalke
- The Idler (1758-1760)
- Rasselas (1759)
- The Plays of William Shakespeare (1765)
- The False Alarm (1770), political pamphlet
- Thoughts on the Late Transactions Respecting Falkland’s Islands (1771), political pamphlet
- The Patriot (1774), political pamphlet
- Taxation No Tyranny (1775), political pamphlet
- A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (1775)
- Lives of the Poets (1779-1781)
The authoritative modern edition of Johnson’s writing is published by Yale University Press. Volumes in print have been published, but it is also becoming freely available online:
Johnson’s scattered writings on various themes and in various formats are part of the Yale edition:
- Diaries, Prayers, and Annals (ed. E. L. McAdam Jr., 1958)
- Poems (ed. E. L. McAdam Jr., 1964)
- Johnson on Shakespeare (ed. Arthur Sherbo, 1968)
- Political Writings (ed. Donald Greene, 1977)
- Sermons (ed. Jean Hagstrum and James Gray, 1978)
- Johnson on the English Language (ed. Gwin J. Kolb and Robert DeMaria Jr., 1990)
And there are other editions of other writings by Johnson:
- The Letters of Samuel Johnson (ed. R. W. Chapman, 1952)
- The Letters of Samuel Johnson (ed. Bruce Redford, 1992-1994)
- The Complete English Poems (ed. J. D. Fleeman, 1971)
- Samuel Johnson: The Latin Poems (transl. and ed. Niall Rudd, 2005)
- Early Biographical Writings of Dr. Johnson (ed. J. D. Fleeman, 1973)
- Samuel Johnson’s Prefaces and Dedications (ed. A. T. Hazen, 1937)
Many of Johnson’s works have also been digitized elsewhere. There is an erratic, electic, and non-comprehensive selection of them on Project Gutenberg.
In addition, many academic and research libraries that have substantial collections of Johnson material published and unpublished, have fortunately digitized some of these treasures for all to view, and/or have provided their catalogues online:
- The Hyde Collection at Harvard. See also the informative and entertaining Hyde Collection Catablog.
- Pembroke College collection at Oxford University. Researchers can make requests to view specific items.
- The British Library.
- The Boswell Collection at Yale.
WORKS ABOUT JOHNSON
(highly selective)
SCHOLARLY BIOGRAPHIES
- Bate, W. Jackson. Samuel Johnson (1979)
- Brack, O M, and Robert E. Kelley. The Early Biographies of Samuel Johnson (1974)
- Clifford, James L. Dictionary Johnson: Samuel Johnson’s Middle Years (1979)
- Kaminski, Thomas. The Early Career of Samuel Johnson (1987)
- Martin, Peter. Samuel Johnson: A Biography (2008)
- Meyers, Jeffrey. Samuel Johnson: The Struggle (2008)
- Nokes, David. Samuel Johnson: A Life (2009)
POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
- Hibbert, Christopher. The Personal History of Samuel Johnson (1971)
- Jones, Wayne. My Sam Johnson (forthcoming)
- Littlejohn, David. Dr. Johnson: His Life in Letters (1965)
- Norman, Charles. Mr. Oddity: Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (1951)
- Wain, John. Samuel Johnson: A Biography (1974)
CONTEMPORARY (18th-CENTURY) BIOGRAPHIES
- Boswell, James. The A-Z of Dr Johnson: Boswell’s Life of Johnson, originally broadcast on BBC 4
- Boswell, James. Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
- Hawkins, John. The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (1787)
- Thrale, Hester. Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson (1786)
ARTICLES & BOOK CHAPTERS
- Roberts, S.C. An Eighteenth Century Gentleman and Other Essays (1930). Contains four essays on Johnson: “Johnson in Grub Street,” “Johnson’s Books,” “The Focus of the Lichfield Lamps,” and “Two Imitations.”
- Smith, David Nichol.”Johnson and Boswell.” In The Cambridge History of English and American Literature (1907-1921)
LITERARY CRITICISM & ANALYSIS
- Wiltshire, John. The Making of Dr Johnson (2009)
(Both images courtesy of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University. See here.)