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The author begins his sketch of Samuel Johnson with a defining moment in which Sam visits the place in the market square where his father used to set up his stall, experiencing both regret and gratitude. Sam refused his father’s invitation into his bookselling business. Instead, he sold his own words to publishers. He looked down on his father as a young man, as he later criticized the patron paying for the dictionary he wrote, but he was hardest on himself, believing he was only as good as his best effort, which he deemed never good enough.
As an entry point into further reading aimed at general readers, Jones' book explores Sam’s writing (his livelihood) and his person. Short "Digressions" from the chronology of major events, such as the failures (running a school) and the accomplishments in Sam’s life are segued between the chapters. The digressions serve to contextualize Sam in a colorful, historical snapshot of eighteenth-century Britain. The book turns readers on to Sam’s writing by explanation, historical interest, and tribute.
Despite Sam’s depressive episodes, he accomplished a lot. His life is chronicled according to his writings. Foremost is one of the first-ever dictionaries, which changed Sam’s mind about language. He sought to preserve it, but in the process of defining terms, he discovered that language evolves as it is used. So, too, the book charts Sam’s change over time, not always for the better. Another digression inquires into his dissatisfied sexual life and his both loving and tense relations with his wife and a good female friend. Full of facts as well as anecdotes, illustrations, and an index for further reading, this is an honest and compassionate portrayal of a lesser-known literary figure worth knowing more about.