I survey my bookshelf: there, in its most remote corner, lies the dust-covered dictionary, ponderous and imposing. Its companions --wrinkled, creased and stained --bear the tender scars of use. Worn but vibrant still, they excite memories of the myriad stories within. The dictionary’s bland, unblemished spine inspires no such reminiscence. As I look on this cold, clinical thing, I envision the thankless toil of some dispassionate drone who first entered each word. And then I am reminded of the familiar axiom: don’t judge a book by its cover.
Samuel Johnson is among the most celebrated English authors of the 18th century. The respected literary critic, acclaimed novelist, distinguished editor and prolific essayist is responsible for single-handedly writing A Dictionary of the English Language. While the century leading up to its publication in 1755 had seen the circulation of roughly twenty other dictionaries, they each suffered from poor organization and were often highly technical, obscure or outmoded. Johnson’s dictionary was the first to provide a definitive and comprehensive lexicon of the English language.
The text’s 42,000 entries are infused with his political biases and sardonic wit and include quotations from Shakespeare and Milton, among many hundreds of other literary luminaries. It is a triumph of scholarship that set a precedent for all future dictionaries and influenced generations of English speaking writers. The work is much more than a hard reference. It is alive with the voices of fellow intellectuals and is reflective of the both the torrid social climate of its day and the shrewd mind of it author.
Navigate: Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover: An Introduction / The Early Life of Samuel Johnson / The Dictionary in a Sociocultural Context / Nine Years in the Making / The Dictionary Hits the Shelves: Critical and Public Reception / Traces of the Author and his Time / Conclusion: The Legacy of a Book / *Bibliography*
