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250 years since the first meeting

250 years ago today a living legend walked into a small bookshop near Covent Garden. That legend was (Dr.) Samuel Johnson - lexicographer, author, literary critic, wit, etc. In the shop was a young Scotsman, who had for a long time hoped to meet the great Johnson. That young man was James Boswell, the 22 year old son af a Scottish judge, who had reluctantly allowed the young son to go to London for half a year, in the vain hope that he would get the big city and wild dreams of a career in the guards out of his system.

Boswell Book Festival 2013 programme

The long-awaited programme for the Boswell Book Festival 2013, which will take place May 17-19 in the grounds of Auchinleck House, has been released, and it looks amazing! Editor of the Yale Boswell papers, Gordon Turnbull, will return to Auchinleck, and on Saturday evening brilliant actor John Sessions will perform his brand new play A Life in Music. John will be back on the next day to end the festival with a portrayal of James Boswell himself.

Third volume of the Yale Research Manuscript edition has been published

The third volume of the annotated Yale edition of the original Life of Johnson manuscript has recently been published and is now available worldwide. The long awaited volume has been edited by Prof. Thomas F. Bonnell who is also already working on the fourth and final volume in that particular sub-series of the Yale research editions.

A visit to 8 Russell Street

I visited London in June 2012 and included 8 Russell Street, Covent Garden in my itinerary. As many visitors to this website will know, 8 Russell Street, built in 1759/60, was from the 1760s and until his death occupied by actor and bookseller Thomas Davies who on May 16, 1763, introduced James Boswell and Dr. Johnson to each other for the first time, in those very premises.

Boswell Book Festival 2012

The programme for this years Boswell Book Festival has now been published. The festival will be held on May 11 - 13, 2012, and once again it willl take place mostly on the grounds of Auchinleck House. This year it is being accompanied by a number of satellite events, such as the "Boswell in the Square" fair in Cumnock, special tours of nearby Dumfries House, a lecture by Dr. Gordon Turnbull at the University of the West of Scotland and tastings of Grant's Whiskey.

 

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