A Bibliography of the Works of Samuel Johnson: Treating His Published Works from the Beginnings to 1984

Samuel Johnson is not only famous for his English Dictionary, and as the subject of Boswell's great biography; he was also the author of many different kinds of books - biographies, essays, literary criticism, poetry - and a regular though anonymous contributor to newspapers, magazines and to books by others. There was a little of the business of authors that he did not know, or about which he did not express a judgement.
This bibliography by the distinguished Johnson scholar, the late J.D. Fleeman, records Johnson's literary output in chronological order, illuminating not only his multifarious writings but also the development of his career and reputation as a professional writer. It reveals the range of his work and the variety of his anonymous contributions (some of them first identified by Fleeman). Detailed analysis of the works examined sheds light on the practices of the 18th century book trade, and indentified editions, early and late, many of which are valuable and unjustly neglected. The bibliography also lists new editions up to 1984, the bicentenary of Johnson's death, charting the course of his posthumous literary reputation.

Readership: Johnson specialists, bibliographers.

J. D. Fleeman, late Fellow, Pembroke College, Oxford

"The year's greatest bibliographic achievement ... the definitive bibliography of Johnson's works ... A remarkable accomplishment, the bibliography will prove an essential resource for Johnson scholars." - Years Work in English Studies

"It is unlikely that any work on Johnson will ever achieve more." - Journal of English and Germanic Philology

"The title of this monumental book can only begin to suggest the richness and importance of its contents. The work of a lifetime, the late David Fleeman's bibliography is both an amazing thorough account of Johnson's publications, and a completely factual, impartial record of Johnson's life as a writer, including the continuation of that life in the press for the 200 years following his death in 1784." - Journal of English and Germanic Philology

"J. D. Fleeman's towering, endlessly interesting and valuable Bibliography of the Works of Samuel Johnson will educate us and elucidate the subjects and evidence we care about for many years to come." - The Review of English Studies, New Series

"Those who knew David Fleeman will find his personal characteristics - particularly his scrupulousness, integrity, and intelligence, as well as his charm and sense of humour - present throughout this bibliography." - The Review of English Studies, New Series

"The late J. D. Fleeman's Bibliography of the Works of Samuel Johnson has been excitedly awaited by scholars around the world ... Now that it has appeared, the result is staggering." - The Review of English Studies, New Series

"Fleeman's monumental bibliography, the work of 30 years, provides an indispensable catalogue of Johnson's works from his first published poem (1731) through the editions, anthologies, and translations of the 1980s ... It definitely supersedes a pair of venerable but long-obsolete works." - Choice

"A work of staggering proportions and complexity ... a splendid work to inaugurate a new millennium of Johnson studies, and will serve to support and to stimulate innumerable lines of scholarly enquiry." - Paul Tankard, Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand Bulletin