Boswell's Presumptuous Task

This is a work in three parts, first detailing James Boswell's life before and during his long friendship with Samuel Johnson; then describing Boswell's long travails in writing his celebrated biography of Johnson; and then the biography's illustrious career from publication to the present.What I found most enjoyable about Boswell's Presumptuous Task is the insight it gives to the lives of Dr. Johnson and James Boswell themselves. Johnson first comes off as gruff and forbidding, but as we read on we realize the charm that, along with his celebrated erudition, made him a magnet for his many friends. As for Boswell, was there ever a man so self-destructive yet accomplished? Unwilling to settle down to follow in his father's footsteps as a lawyer and landowner in Scotland, he tore off to London whenever possible to enjoy the high life. In the capital he tried to shine in high society, but usually wound up on its fringes at best. Although he apparently adored his terminally ill wife, he was unable to resist prostitutes ( I lost count of the number of VD infections he contracted ). He tried to go into Parliament, but failed to grasp that no one would be willing to sponsor him in a seat unless he agreed to give up his independence. (And we think politics today is cynical!)Despite his naivete, Boswell was accomplished enough to turn out a landmark biography of Samuel Johnson. Its emphasis on its subject's character has influenced every biography since. Boswell's Presumptuous Task is an enjoyable description both of the process of writing a classic biography and of the growth of the biographer himself.

In this magnificent work Mr Sisman describes the making of that greatest of all biographies, Boswell's Life of Dr Johnson. To his contemporaries the task that Boswell had taken on was presumptuous indeed - to record the life of the greatest literary man of his age, while being dismissed himself as a frivolous and reprobate dilettante incapable of any serious activity. Well, the world knows that Bozzy succeeded in confounding his critics, but the tragic irony of his predicament was that he succeeded too well. While hailing the book as a masterpiece, the current and future literary establishment dismissed Boswell's own role as little more than that of a stenographer. Macaulay's damning essay on Boswell formed the opinion held by too many people for far too long. The true story of Boswell's genius became well known to scholars in the 20th century; with this book, Mr Sisman brings the story to a wider audience. It is a remarkable portait of Boswell's love for Johnson and the great struggles he endured to bring his hero to life in the pages of his biography. Battling drink, debauchery, depression and his own self-destructive nature, Boswell managed to pull off the one great sustained piece of effort of his life. In his book Johnson was brought to life once again, an image so convincing that it took over 150 years for people to discern the art behind the apparent ingenuousness of Boswell's technique. Sisman does a good job of showing how the Johnson of the Life was as much a product of Boswell's gift as the historical record (although I think readers would have benefited from a few examples of textual analysis to illustrate this). His final chapter on the gradual unearthing of the Boswell papers provides an exciting ending and his writing is clear and compelling. "Boswell's Presumptuous Task" is nothing short of a triumph.

_Life[17~ of Johnson_ by James Boswell has, since its publication in1791, been one of the world's favorite books. Now Adam Sisman hasbiographied that great biography, in _Boswell's Presumptuous Task: TheMaking of the Life of Dr. Johnson_ (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), agrand book for anyone who loves the original one, or Boswell, orJohnson. It is also a capital demonstration of the artistry involvedin writing nonfiction. Boswell had a stern father who had contempt forhis son, and so he searched for father figures. It was this role thatJohnson inevitably played, and while others were disgusted byBoswell's sycophancy, it mere ensured that Boswell could get hissubject to discourse, and could take it all down in his ever-presentjournal. Sisman shows how Boswell used his voluminous journals to puthimself into the scene, even when he was not really there. Anecdotesfrom friends and even Johnson's own writings were put into thebiography as if Boswell were really there, and that Boswell edited theconversations to his liking. A skilled mimic, Boswell could turnstories about Johnson in a way that made them true to life. Scholarshave counted up the calendars of the two men and found that they metonly on 400 days of the last 22 years of Johnson's life, so Boswellreally did not play the role of constant companion. Even moreinteresting is what Boswell left out, Johnson's sexualactivities. Uxoriousness and unrelieved grief of the widower weretruer to Boswell's purpose, if not to Johnson's character. Inaddition, painting his friend in this way may have assuaged Boswell'sguilt over his many infidelities to his own wife. Sisman also showshow untiringly Boswell sought details from others, and confirmed them,in order to write them up himself.Boswell had a magnificent anduseful friendship with Johnson, who inspired him and provided him withthe immortality he sought (although, sadly, Boswell could not haveknown this). The friendship was a foundation of his life, and formsthe basis of one of the most entertaining of the great books. Itwasn't always a smooth friendship, as Johnson was alwaysintermittently rough with his friends. His famous remark to Boswell,"You have but two topics, yourself and me, and I'm sick ofboth," shows that he grew impatient at being prodded intoself-revelation. But we only know of that remark because Boswell, allthanks be to him, recorded it for future use and kept it as one of thedetails in his incomparable book.

Before Boswell, biography was like a formal portrait, a flattering way to honor the subject. Today, biography is more likely to be critical than to be positive. All of this has happened in less than 220 years. How was the line originally breached? That's the key element of this rewarding "biography of a biographer doing a biography." In fact, this book's perspective on Boswell's task has itself has now broken new ground. Where will this new view take us 220 years hence? This book will probably only be a three or four star effort for those who have not yet read (or cannot remember much about) James Boswell's Life of Dr. Johnson. If you think you are interested in this book's subject, go read or reread the biography first unless it is very clear in your mind. Otherwise, many of the juiciest bits of this book will not connect as well for you.Before reading the Life of Dr. Johnson, I could not make any sense of why Boswell had written the book. Surely an attorney had something better to do than to follow another man around, taking verbatim notes of his conversations. After seeing the biography, I realized that the relationship was in many ways like that of the fictional Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories and novels. Boswell adored Johnson, as did most people. But it still wasn't clear what all his motivations were, aside from adoration. This book is very helpful in that regard. I had never invested the time in reading a biography of Boswell, so many of these details about the time after Johnson died were new to me. The core of the book deals with the issue of great men having their downsides. I often am shocked by how often it seems that the greater the genius, the worse the person is in his or her private life. It is as though the genius withdraws them from all else, and gives them psychological license to break the rules of ordinary mortals. The Prometheus myth comes to mind as a parallel.Dr. Samuel Johnson was no exception, although certainly not as weak in many ways as other "great men" have been. In biography terms, what was exceptional was that Boswell recorded and reported much of the flaws he encountered. What this book reveals that was new to me (and possibly to you) is what Boswell did not include in the biography. Now, that part of this book was even more interesting that what I had read in the biography. This point was even more striking to me because Boswell seemed to be a classic case of a man who lacked emotional intelligence. He was surprised when he offended people, and that some were stricken to the quick by what he had written. This occurred despite having had these experiences over and over again. But even Boswell had some scruples. You will probably also be interested to learn about what the Boswell notes and journals have shown about Boswell's writing process. Boswell's notes were not actually stenographic records. They were fragments and general references to jo

Whether you are a Johnsonian or a Boswellian this is a book you will love. If there is anything almost as pleasing as reading Boswell's Life of Johnson it is reading about how this masterpiece was written. Sisman first gives us a summary of Boswell's and Johnson's life together. This chapter can be a little trying for those of us who know the story through and through but is a wonderfully concise grounding for those new to the subject.Then Sisman tells us how Boswell lived during the almost seven years it took for the publication of his opus magnum to become a reality. The story is often sad. Boswell was in debt and not gainfully employed. He lost his wife and his health. Boswell sometimes despaired but he knew that he was the one man who could write a book befitting its tremendous subject. He knew this absolutely and he was absolutely right.We all know Macaulay's deadly verdict on Boswell: a fool who wrote a great book by accident. Macaulay and those of his ilk seem to see Boswell as the posited monkey who when given a typewriter and allowed to type at random could eventually turn out the works of Shakespeare.Not bloodly likely! As Sisman shows us Boswell put his whole heart and soul into writing this book. He spared no effort in making it as perfect and as copious as he could. With Boswell's loyal heart and Edmond Malone's careful eye working together a monument worthy of Samuel Johnson was created.It is well that we are reminded from time to time of how much we owe to James Boswell. I am only sorry if he cannot hear our plaudits.