The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.

Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-84) is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of English literature, as a poet, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. This collected edition of his works - commissioned by the publisher within hours of Johnson's death, such was his celebrity - was published in 1787 in eleven volumes, edited by his literary executor, the musicologist Sir John Hawkins. Volume 10 contains a mixture of items - political tracts on taxation and current affairs; miscellaneous short works including book reviews and papers on agriculture, French prisoners of war, and the building of Blackfriars' Bridge; and A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland. These show the range of his interests and the ease with which he could turn his pen to any topic.