- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Flamingo; New edition edition (1 Nov 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0006548245
- ISBN-13: 978-0006548249
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,117,692 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Dr Johnson and Mr Savage
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
|
There is a newer edition of this item:
|
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'As tense as a detective story and as rich as a Hogarth print, this is the work of a master-biographer.' John Carey, Sunday Times 'Richard Holmes's Dr Johnson & Mr Savage is enthralling, well-written and convincing, a model of tactful psychological biography. One reads it with the pleasure one derives from great imaginative literature.' Theodore Dalrymple, Spectator 'Samuel Johnson's Life of Mr Richard Savage is now perfectly complemented by Holmes's volume which acts as a Baedeker through the reeking purlieus of an 18th-century Grub Street, while at the same time bringing fully to life two of the most complex and fascinating characters of English letters.' Peter Ackroyd 'Holmes, one of the most subtle and imaginative of contemporary biographers, is a virtuoso sleuth, an inspired rooter out of the human being netted in the web of words spun by a poem or a memoir. He combines scholarship with a rare gift of empathy, a deep personal involvement with his subject...His writing seems to glow from the fusion of an acute critical intelligence with a deep poetic and imaginative insight.' Patrick Taylor Martin, Literary Review 'A chiaroscuro masterpiece.' David Nokes, TLS
Review
'As tense as a detective story and as rich as a Hogarth print, this is the work of a master-biographer.' John Carey, Sunday Times 'Richard Holmes's Dr Johnson & Mr Savage is enthralling, well-written and convincing, a model of tactful psychological biography. One reads it with the pleasure one derives from great imaginative literature.' Theodore Dalrymple, Spectator 'Samuel Johnson's Life of Mr Richard Savage is now perfectly complemented by Holmes's volume which acts as a Baedeker through the reeking purlieus of an 18th-century Grub Street, while at the same time bringing fully to life two of the most complex and fascinating characters of English letters.' Peter Ackroyd 'Holmes, one of the most subtle and imaginative of contemporary biographers, is a virtuoso sleuth, an inspired rooter out of the human being netted in the web of words spun by a poem or a memoir. He combines scholarship with a rare gift of empathy, a deep personal involvement with his subject!His writing seems to glow from the fusion of an acute critical intelligence with a deep poetic and imaginative insight.' Patrick Taylor Martin, Literary Review 'A chiaroscuro masterpiece.' David Nokes, TLS
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This superbly arranged piece of literature delves into the fascinating relationship between the little-known illegitimate rake/poet/playwrite/convicted murderer Richard Savage and a young, impressionable and awkwardly self-conscious scholar who came to be known as 'that Great Cham of literature', Samuel Johnson. Many are the Biographers and Students that have puzzled over the great man's association with the chancer whose dissipated life and whose claim to aristocratic parentage were the talk of the London literati throughout the eighteenth century. Holmes is the first to tackle the reasons behind this mysterious friendship head-on and he does it with the cunning and ingenuity of his ficticious namesake.
A must-read for anybody interested in 18th century intrigue or the Augustan Age of English literature.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A rather short book but very interesting nontheless.
A bit too literary in places.
A bit too literary in places.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
The Lives of the Poets Redux
21 Jun 1997
Format:Hardcover
This is an excellent introduction to Johnson and his literary milieu. Savage was a troubled poet who was orphaned as a child. He claimed to be the illegitimate son of the Earl of Rivers and that he was entitled to aristocratic standing in 18th century England. His best known poems are "The Wanderer" and "The Bastard". Given to riotous living he eventually was involved in a murder from which he was pardoned by Queen Caroline. He ended his days in debtors' prison. What makes the story so interesting is that someone like Johnson would take such a deep interest in Savage. They were separated by some twenty years in age and Johnson, who was just beginning his literary career, looked up to Savage. In doing so he chose not to notice his vices. Other important poets of the time, Pope, Thomson, Mallet also make an appearance. A good way into the world of Samuel Johnson. Holmes is capable of invoking the entire atmosphere of 18th century England
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A taste of Samuel before he was "Dr. Johnson"
18 Feb 1997
Format:Hardcover
Most of us know Samuel Johnson as the monumental center of Boswell's biography: witty, erudite, and revered by his contemporaries. Richard Holmes gives us a picture of the man before he became a living legend, when Johnson was destitute, wandering the streets all night because he had no money for lodgings--and friends with the notorious Richard Savage. In bringing Savage back to life--a man full of wild poetic genius but too erratic to create works worthy of it--, Holmes reconstructs 18th century London and gives us intriguing glimpses into the influences that made Johnson the literary lion that he became. Holmes' deconstruction of Johnson's "Life of Savage" reveals the substantial emotional ties that Johnson had to his wayward friend. Fascinating reading and tremendous scholarship
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating Account of Fascinating Relationship
6 Sep 2000
Format:Paperback
Richard Savage's sole claim to fame is that Johnson wrote a book about him. At the time it was written, however, Johnson wasn't very well known himself and was only marginally more respectable than Savage. Holmes does an excellent job of describing their relationship and showing us how Johnson lived before he bacame a tory sage. He provides an excellent counterweight to Boswell, who tended to play down Johnson's awkwardness and barely concealed rage. At the same time, Holmes never forgets that Johnson was a great writer and man.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
