Samuel Johnson’s Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and James Boswell’s Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides recounts their tour of Scotland in 1773. While Johnson focuses on Scotland itself, Boswell is even keener on presenting his friend to the notables of his homeland. Together they form a complete account of a fascinating journey, two intriguing personalities, and of a society coming to terms with itself after a period of drastic upheaval.
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When
James Boswell and
Samuel Johnson met in Edinburgh on August 14, 1773, they had been friends for ten years. Boswell was at thirty-two years of age a moderately successful Scottish lawyer. He combined his intellectual endeavor with a fervent devotion to the sensual pleasures of womanizing and drinking. At sixty-three years of age, Johnson was a major London celebrity, a famous writer whose houses became a rendezvous for those who wished to benefit from his moral piety and worldly wisdom.