Boswell's London Journal, 1762-1763

Best known for his biography of Samuel Johnson, James Boswell was also an avid journal writer and a shrewd observer of humanity. This account of his stay in London while in his early 20s offers a window into more than 250 years ago. Boswell recorded his sexual escapades, his first meeting with Johnson, his social life, his moods, conversations he heard in coffee houses, people he met and a host of other matters in a charming, even vulnerable style. The annotations by Frederick Pottle are useful and instructive. So is the introduction by Peter Ackroyd. Simply one of the most charming and insightful primary sources we have on the 18th century which continues to delight. Highest recommendation.

Scotsman of high ideals and weak moral fibre spends several months in London crashing dinner parties, schmoozing aristocrats, nailing hookers, getting the clap. (Quote of the book: "She is in all probability a most consummate dissembling whore.") Resolves to change his ways. Doesn't. Writes lots of nasty things about various fifteen-minuters of his day and also meets a few bona fide intellectual lights like Johnson. This book is a salacious page-turner, beautifully written by a young man with an indiscriminate penis but a discerning eye for character. Highly recommended for those interested in Georgian England, but even more highly recommended for horny teenage boys daunted by summer reading lists: it offers a good dose of smut but you get credit for reading a Classic.

Interesting enough visit to 18th century London but there’s a lot of daily routine that doesn’t make for very good reading.

James Boswell, 22 years old, leaves his home in Scotland to live the city life in London. He records his adventures and thoughts in this journal which has been wonderfully edited and annotated by Frederick Pottle. Boswell relates the life of a young man living on a small allowance in London while freely sharing his thoughts and ambitions to be a man of the world. Reading his constant self-exhortations to behave with more dignity and gravitas is a delight. Boswell is a very likable young man who often behaves with compassion and always with self-awareness. I am so glad to have the opportunity to learn about and share his world.

Poor modern time, that was the time of , back then, of syphilis and the kind -petite verole - grande verole- that was not easily cured- BUT human lust is greater than life saving measure-re member AIDS?Now it is not only about sex ( yes a lot ) but also about like Jules Renard wrote his every day life- here life in London---You are in your flat open the door and..Flash----you are a witness, even better- a part of it.

A good book with very descriptive narratives of life in London back in the 18th century. Much of the book are anecdotes of Boswell's intrapersonal relationships with those he interacts with on a daily basis. It's like reading a friend's diary. Some entries were probably never meant to go public. I liked it.

To anyone who, like myself, has found a real and deep enjoyment in reading the Life of Johnson, I can only recommend Boswell's own diaries. The first volume - his 'London Journal' starting in the year he met Johnson - is pure delight. Boswell always saw himself as a character acting in the drama of life, and he could be almost excruciatingly honest and objective about himself. His voluminous diaries record all the trivia, triumphs, and despairs of his own life, day by day and year by year.My own opinion is that Boswell is a far better diarist than Pepys, though not nearly as well known in this respect. There is a fascination about seeing his whole life recorded from youth to shortly before his death, with all the same force and liveliness that went into his Life of Johnson. His inner life is at least as entertaining as his outer life. He seems totally determined to write about himself as he wrote about Johnson - warts and all.It's this courage and honesty about himself that makes us respect Boswell even when he is at his most foolish or debauched. The diaries make it extremely clear that he was no idiot, and that the Life of Johnson was no fortuitous masterpiece. From his diaries he comes across as a deeply sensitive, romantic, self-conscious man. Charming, likeable, and often playing the clown to his acquaintances; but often filled with self-doubt, frustration, insecurity, and a deep depression that he concealed from all except his closest friends.We see Boswell puffed up with vanity at some silly social success, and the same Boswell quietly devoting large amounts of time and money that he could ill spare to helping people in trouble. We see Boswell in love again and again with totally unsuitable women, and eventually marrying the cousin who had always been a good, close friend rather than an object of wild romance. We see Boswell in his vibrant youth, and his tragic final years, as an alcoholic filled with bitter shame and despair, yet unable to reform.His diaries are certainly one of the great undiscovered treasures of literature. They deserve to be a lot better known than they are.

I read this for background on Boswell before I tackle his biography of Johnson, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The young Boswell's writing skills are on again/off again, but still the writer to come is evident. Boswell's London Journal outshines most any other journal you could read, and provides insight not only into the young (and maddeningly self-absorbed and trivial) Boswell, but also into a London culture that seems only remotely related to the 21st century western world.A must read for any Boswell fan, and a good read for anyone interested in late 18th century London society.