Anniversary Essays on Johnson's Dictionary

Description

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language, the first great English dictionary and one of the most famous books in the English language, appeared in April 1755. To commemorate the 250th anniversary, this volume brings together fourteen original essays by international scholars representing several disciplines: literature, lexicology, linguistics and bibliography. The essays explore familiar and unfamiliar aspects of Johnson's masterpiece, ranging from the history of patronage to the book's typographical design, from the political background to the treatment of compound words. Challenging the myths surrounding the book and offering the most comprehensive and wide-ranging study of the Dictionary ever attempted, these essays present the latest scholarship on the Dictionary and open up new perspectives and directions for future research.

Jack Lynch is Associate Professor of English at Rutgers University. Anne McDermott is Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Birmingham.

'This book is an essential addition to any serious collection in the field of English studies or bibliography.' Rare Books Newsletter 'The Dictionary owes not all but most of the attention that it receives to the fact that it is Johnson's, one more work to be read for evidence of his peculiarities, hobby horses, and strengths or weaknesses. It is good to find the Dictionary investigated and discussed here for itself, as a book - a hugely influential work of reference that can be seen in other contexts besides the biographical. ... The effect of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, for each paper offers access to a way of thinking and to a range of sources that may be new to the exclusively literary, bibliographical, or lexicographical reader.' Times Literary Supplement