Christopher Hibbert draws on every known contemporary source to provide a minutely detailed look at the fascinating writer Samuel Johnson. Using facts and anecdotes, Hibbert delivers intimate glimpses into Johnson's time as a schoolboy, his eccentricities as an undergraduate at Oxford, his struggle as a poor writer in London, and his slow rise to the legendary figure with a court of admirers and a steady stream of visitors. Hibbert combines personal stories with an examination Johnson's writing, offering a compelling and readable account. “Skillful and beautifully written.” ― The Washington Post “Persuasive and lively…A highly entertaining portrait.” ― Sunday Telegraph “An excellent and original study.” ― Sunday Times Christopher Hibbert (1924-2008) , "a pearl of biographers" ( New Statesman ), is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the author of Disraeli (St. Martin's Press), The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici, The English: A Social History , and Cavaliers and Roundheads . He lived in Oxfordshire, England. Henry Hitchings was born in 1974. He is the author of The Secret Life of Words , Who's Afraid of Jane Austen? , and Defining the World . He has contributed to many newspapers and magazines and is the theater critic for the London Evening Standard.