Dr Johnson is often thought of as a strident overbearing conversationalist a man who famously asserted that Women have all the liberty they should wish to have. But in this revealing book Kate Chisholm argues it is time to consider how Johnson lived his life not just what he said. She proposes that the heart of the man the truth of his character can more clearly be seen via his many
- close generous equal
- relationships with women. At one end of the spectrum were Johnsons mother Sarah; his painted poppet wife Tetty; & the women like the prostitute Poll Carmichael & the blind poetess Anna Williams he took in when they had nowhere else to go. At the other end were Mary Wollstonecraft who refers to Johnson in Vindication of the Rights of Woman; Hester Thrale renowned wit & Johnsons dear mistress; & Elizabeth Carter whose translation of Epictetus was an instant bestseller. In between were the poet & critic Charlotte Lennox who invented the serialised novel; the accomplished portraitist Frances Reynolds sister of Sir Joshua; the Derbyshire gentlewoman & Johnsons spiritual guide Hill Boothby"; & the writer & abolitionist Hannah More. By looking again at this controversial figure through the eyes of this extraordinary cast of female characters we can discover the essential & unexpected Johnson. Kate Chisholm also brilliantly brings to life an exceptional moment in the history of women when for a short period talent wit & independence were not only possible but rewarded."