Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland

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In January 1775, the great English essayist, critic, biographer, and poet Samuel Johnson moved outside his usual literary terrain to publish

A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland

, his one contribution to the genre of travel writing. A short 137 pages in the most recent critical edition (Fleeman, 1985), the

Journey

gives an account of the strenuous three-month tour of Scotland the elderly Johnson undertook by coach, horse, foot, and boat with his young Scottish friend and future biographer, James Boswell. Though it has never received the critical attention of Johnson’s other major writings, its casual episodic structure, lucid, dignified prose, and searching reflections on Scottish life make the

Journey

one of his most accessible and engaging works.

Johnson and Boswell began their

2583 words

Citation: Wilcox, Lance. "A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 April 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7164, accessed 19 March 2024.]

7164 A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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