Tag: boswell
-
Will They, Won’t They: Belle De Zuylen and Boswell Flirted, But Fizzled Out
Belle De Zuylen’s relationship with Scottish lawyer James Boswell could have made a nice little Netflix dramedy. From 1763-1764 they flirted and discussed and met and wrote letters. Nothing. Four more years of correspondence. Nothing. Then they married other people. De Zuylen was a fascinating person. Learn about her. Click.
-
A Lost Boswell Treasure, Rediscovered in my Underpants Drawer
This morning I rediscovered a treasure I bought back in 2023: A 1973 collection of the Picturesque Beauties of Boswell. It’s a squarish pack of twenty prints, copies of etchings made by Eighteenth century artist, illustrator and portraitist Thomas Rowlandson. If you’re a Boswell fan…indeed, a Boswellian, then read this.
-
Can You Understand Robert Burns’ Poetry?
Robert Burns is Scotland’s national bard, yet who understands his poetry? I daydreamed not even Capt Kirk and his Starship Enterprise crew have the gadgets to translate – it’s that difficult. Only scholars and language enthusiasts can read Burns poetry, I reckon. Does Burns’ Scots language still survive? Read on.
-
I Wish My Most-Used Books Were in Hardback
I own two books which through constant use and consultation are becoming increasingly raggedy, with spines I anticipate will split in 2026 accompanied by the sad ungluing of pages. In short: collapse. The books? To The Hebrides: Samuel Johnson’s Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and James Boswell’s Journal of a Tour…
-
RW Chapman Continues Johnson Studies While Shelling the Germans in WWI
When you read books about the Eighteenth century, the lives of their authors are often equally fascinating. Chapman the scholar Usually the interest comes from their time spent during one of the world wars. Robert William Chapman (1881-1960) is one such scholar-author – of literary history. If you read about…
-
Boswell’s Options for a Journey to London were on Foot, on Hoof or by Wheel
There were only three ways to travel between Scotland and London in the Eighteenth century: by foot, on horseback or by wheeled carriage. (Actually, you could take a boat, from Leith for example, but it wasn’t until the 1850s when a person could travel by rail out of Scotland and…