Reconsidering Biography

Reviews / Votes

Reconsidering Biography splendidly illuminates an unjustly neglected eighteenth-century literary figure, musicologist, editor, and biographer Sir John Hawkins. Martine Watson Brownley oversees a collection of essays penned by a distinguished collection of contributors who focus primarily upon Hawkins' most enduring contribution to British literature, his Life of Johnson-an important study that has been historically eclipsed by Boswell's Life of Johnson. The momentum generated by these crisp and luminous essays, in combination with the recent publication of O M Brack's critical edition of Hawkins' Life of Johnson, should stimulate a revival of critical interest in Hawkins. -- Anthony W. Lee, author of Mentoring Relationships in the Life And Writings of Samuel Johnson Though James Boswell is the most famous of Samuel Johnson's biographers, he was not the first; the honor of writing the first full-length biography belongs to Sir John Hawkins, whose Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. appeared in 1787. But Boswell succeeded in drawing the all limelight, and Hawkins's life of Johnson had not been published unabridged since the 18th century. That changed in 2009, when O M Brack's magisterial edition of The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (CH, Feb'10, 47-3021) promised to inaugurate a new era of scholarly interest in Hawkins. With the present title, that new phase has begun. This, the first-ever collection of essays on Hawkins, includes contributions from distinguished senior scholars of 18th-century British literature and explores Hawkins's theory and practice of biography, his attitude toward the poet Richard Savage, his take on Johnson's politics, and his knowledge of the law. All the contributors also argue for Hawkins's importance and do so in language accessible to every reader. Hawkins will likely remain a minority taste, and few undergraduates will consult a book such as this, but libraries serving advanced scholars should own a copy. Summing Up: Recommended. * CHOICE *