The object of this little book is clearly expressed on the title-page;
and the title-page might be left to speak for itself, were it not for
the inevitable criticism that Boswell needs no introduction. "The
most discreet of cicerones" it has been said "is an intruder when we
open our old favourite, and, without further magic, retire into that
delicious nook of eighteenth-century society[1]."
This is from the point of view of the literary man, the "true lover" of
Boswell; but the _Life_ is a long and, outwardly, formidable work with
which many, who might have been true lovers, have, through lack of an
introduction, hardly attained even to a casual acquaintance.
The usefulness, then, of such a book as this can be tested by one
question: Is a man more, or less, likely to read Boswell and to read
him with enjoyment, because, as a boy, he has been told the story of Dr
Johnson in simpler form?
This "simpler form" may require a little explanation.
I have not been so foolish or so sacrilegious as to attempt to
paraphrase Boswell for the young; on the other hand, I have not merely
strung together a series of extracts and offered them as the gems of
the Boswellian narrative. But, letting Boswell for the most part speak
for himself--not in isolated tit-bits, but in substantial paragraphs--I
have endeavoured to present Dr Johnson, in the various stages of his
career and in the varied circle of his friends, in such a way as to
attract those who have not already known the charm of the "delicious
nook" referred to above.
In one or two of the chapters I have turned to the records of other
friends besides Boswell--notably Mrs Thrale and Fanny Burney.
For the many imperfections that critics will discover I must plead
certain limitations: my range of authorities was limited by remoteness
from a large library; my space by the modest design of the book; my
time by the imminence of an army medical board.
Much, indeed, is omitted, but if I shall win new readers for Boswell, I
shall dare to say, like Johnson, that something likewise is performed.