I’m James Boswell. How well do you know me?

Let me introduce myself. My name’s James Boswell. I’m from the Eighteenth century and, though I say it myself, I’m a pretty big deal for scholars, writers and readers. If you’re one of those people who study my life and writings, or if you’ve simply read one of the many biographies that have been written about me (don’t believe everything they tell you!), then here’s a test to see how much you remember. It’s about all the people I’ve met during my life. So, have you paid attention?

This is a quiz about the people I met

Quick biography: I was born on 29 October, 1740 and died on 19 May, 1795. I’ve been deceased for 230 years. I’m famous for writing the greatest biography ever written, The Life of Samuel Johnson LLD (but also The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson LLD) and also for the discovery and publication of all my secret journals (in which I certainly revealed a bit too much about myself. But, y’know, it had become a habit. I was addicted.)

Here are 15 questions. The answers are all people I knew in my life. How much of a Boswellian are you?

Quiz Questions (Answers are at the bottom of the post)

Which one of my friends became Lord Mayor of London in 1774? (I liked this guy. He could really tell a joke.)
In the winter of 1771, my wife Peggie and I rented a flat owned by which famous Edinburgher?
When I was in my early 20s I had an affair (ahem) with a married woman, Jean Heron, whose father was pretty famous. Who was he?
I was so upset when my friend Sam Johnson died. And there was this extraordinary pressure to produce a biography of his life. But who beat me to it with a book entitled The Life of Samuel Johnson LLD, published in 1787?
Who was the minister from St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh that used to visit me while I was in London in 1763? (You should know this if you’ve read my London Journal!)
Talking of my time in London, what was the name of the man behind the Ossian poems who also used to visit me? (I liked this fella, actually.)
Can you name the man who I first met at his home in London in 1772, along with Sam Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith? (Clue: Would you believe he founded Georgia in America.)
What was the name of the writer whose mistress I had an affair with? (Clue: He accused David Hume of conspiring against him which caused quite a bit of gossip, I can tell you!)
Who visited me and my wife Peggie in September 1771, after travelling to Scotland with the Polish Ambassador Count Burzynkski?
Which friend of mine was an MP and a great orator that many refer to as the father of modern Conservatism?
Which one of my friends regularly caused raised eyebrows while out socialising with ‘interesting’ behaviours that some modern scholars believe may have been Tourette’s Syndrome?
I had two acquaintances who many have described as ugly (haha, they were pretty ugly, but hey, it was the Eighteenth century, we said stuff like that back then, lol), but which one was very dear to Samuel Johnson (Clue: Sam wrote the epitaph for his memorial in Westminster Abbey.)
I went to Glasgow University and attended lectures by which famous lecturer? (Clue: he wrote a book which British Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher used to keep in her handbag. Apparently.)
What’s the name of the philosopher I met and stayed with for two nights in his home? (Clue: He published a famous novel the same year as Sam Johnson published his Rasselas.)
What’s the name of the acquaintance I visited who lived in a villa in Streatham and who was a great friend to Sam Johnson? (Johnson had a room there and I grudgingly admit it was good for his mental health.)

Quiz Answers

Which one of my friends became Lord Mayor of London in 1774? I liked this guy. He could really tell a joke. John Wilkes (p.786, Penguin Dictionary of Eighteenth Century History.)
In the winter of 1771, my wife Peggie and I rented a flat owned by which famous Edinburgher? David Hume (p.13, Boswell for the Defence 1769-1774, WK Wimsatt Jr and FA Pottle.)
When I was in my early 20s I had an affair (ahem!) with a married woman, Jean Heron, who’s father was pretty famous, but who was it? Lord Kames (p.78-79, James Boswell: The Earlier Years, FA Pottle.)
I was so upset when my friend Samuel Johnson died, there was extraordinary pressure to produce a biography of his life. But who beat me to it with a book entitled The Life of Samuel Johnson LLD, published in 1787? John Hawkins (p.314 Boswell’s Presumptious Task, Adam Sisman.)
Who was the minister from St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh that used to visit me while I was in London in 1763? You should know this if you’ve read my London Journal! Hugh Blair (p.236, London Journal 1762-1763, FA Pottle.)
Talking of my time in London, what was the name of the man behind the Ossian poems who also used to visit me? I liked him, actually. James Macpherson (p.264, London Journal 1762-1763, FA Pottle.)
Can you name the fellow who I first met at his home in London in 1772, along with Sam Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith…would you believe he founded the province of Georgia in America. General Oglethorpe (p.108, Boswell for the Defence 1769-1774, WK Wimsatt Jr and FA Pottle.)
What was the name of the writer whose mistress I had an affair with (Clue: He accused David Hume of conspiring against him which caused quite a bit of gossip, I can tell you!) Jean Jacques Rousseau (p.xii, Boswell on the Grand Tour: Italy, Corsica, and France 1765-1766, F Brady and FA Pottle.)
Who visited me and my wife Peggie in September 1771, after travelling to Scotland with the Polish Ambassador Count Burzynkski? General Pasquale Paoli (p.22-23, Boswell for the Defence 1769-1774, WK Wimsatt Jr and FA Pottle.)
Which friend of mine was an MP, a great orator and the man many refer to as the father of modern Conservatism? Edmund Burke (p.58, Edmund Burke: Philosopher, Politician, Prophet, Jesse Norman.)
Which one of my friends regularly caused some raised eyebrows while out socialising with ‘interesting’ behaviours that some modern scholars believe may have been Tourette’s Syndrome? Samuel Johnson ( p.285-6, Samuel Johnson: A Biography, Peter Martin.)
I had two acquaintances who many have described as ugly (hey, it was the Eighteenth century, we said stuff like that back then, lol), but which one was very dear to Samuel Johnson? (Clue: he wrote the epitaph for his memorial in Westminster Abbey) Oliver Goldsmith (p.275, The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age, Leo Damrosch.)
I was at Glasgow University and attended lectures by which famous lecturer? (Clue: he wrote a book which British Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher used to keep in her handbag. Apparently) Adam Smith (p.42, James Boswell: The Earlier Years, FA Pottle.)
What’s the name of the philosopher I met and stayed with for two nights in his home? (Clue: He published a famous novel the same year as Sam Johnson published his Rasselas.) Voltaire (p.179, Boswell’s Enlightenment, Robert Zaretsky.)
What’s the name of the acquaintance I visited who lived in a villa in Streatham and who was a great friend to Sam Johnson? (Johnson had a room there and I grudgingly admit it was good for his mental health.) Hester Thrale (p.332, Boswell in Search of a Wife 1766-1769, F Brady and FA Pottle.)

How did you do?

If you got 15 out of 15, then Well done! You are a Boswellian. I ought to ask the Genius Fan if I can make another quiz with tougher questions. Let’s be honest, the questions in this quiz weren’t tough – not if you’ve been reading about me for a few years.

If you got 10 out of 15 correct. Not bad, but come on! Where’s your commitment to learning about me? Look out for my next quiz.

If you got 5 out of 10 correct then I expect you got the easy questions right (Sam Johnson, Hester Thrale, Adam Smith, Voltaire and David Hume.) I’m just glad you read the questions and took the time to think about the quiz.

I was a bit of a tuft hunter when I was alive, as you can see.

Thanks for taking the time to test yourself.

Jamie Boswell