James Boswell

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James Boswell


Born
in Edinburgh, Scotland
October 29, 1740

Died
May 19, 1795

Genre

Influences


James Boswell, 10th Laird of Auchinleck and 1st Baronet was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the eldest son of a judge, Alexander Boswell, 8th Laird of Auchinleck and his wife Euphemia Erskine, Lady Auchinleck. Boswell's mother was a strict Calvinist, and he felt that his father was cold to him. Boswell, who is best known as Samuel Johnson’s biographer, inherited his father’s estate Auchinleck in Ayrshire. His name has passed into the English language as a term (Boswell, Boswellian, Boswellism) for a constant companion and observer.

Boswell is also known for the detailed and frank journals that he wrote for long periods of his life, which remained undiscovered until the 1920s. These included voluminous notes
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Average rating: 3.78 · 7,554 ratings · 663 reviews · 1,507 distinct worksSimilar authors
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Journal of a Tour to the He...

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Life of Johnson, Volume 1 1...

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Meeting Dr. Johnson (Pengui...

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Boswell in Holland 1763 - 1764

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Life of Johnson, Volume 2 1...

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More books by James Boswell…
London Journal, 1762 - 1763 Boswell in Holland 1763 - 1764 The Journal of His German a... The Journal of a Tour to Co... Journal of a Tour to the He...
(13 books)
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3.82 avg rating — 1,003 ratings

Quotes by James Boswell  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over. So in a series of acts of kindness there is, at last, one which makes the heart run over.”
James Boswell

“I am so fond of tea that I could write a whole dissertation on its virtues. It comforts and enlivens without the risks attendant on spirituous liquors. Gentle herb! Let the florid grape yield to thee. Thy soft influence is a more safe inspirer of social joy.”
James Boswell, London Journal, 1762 - 1763
tags: tea

“It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time.”
James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson

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