The making of Johnson's dictionary, 1746-1773
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The making of Johnson's dictionary, 1746-1773
（Cambridge studies in publishing and printing history）
Cambridge University Press, 1990
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Description and Table of Contents
Description
As the first great English dictionary, and the only dictionary created by a great writer, Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is recognised as a landmark in English language and letters. The heroic effort of the work's creation over nine years has long been enshrined in English literary mythology. However, details pertaining to Johnson's long years of work on his Dictionary are very scarce. With the recent discovery and deciphering of manuscript materials, including hundreds of unpublished revisions, Reddick describes the conception, composition, writing and subsequent revision of the Dictionary. Reddick argues that the Dictionary does not reflect Johnson's final thoughts on a fixed language, but rather constitutes a text in flux, changed repeatedly throughout Johnson's lifetime. He also contributes more generally to the biographical information about Johnson during these 'middle' years, and analyses the political and theological aspects of the work, attempting to determine how we 'read' Johnson's Dictionary.
Table of Contents
- Preface Cue-titles 1. Introduction
- Johnson's 'Mind ... on the Stretch': A Dictionary of the English Language 2. 'The plan of my undertaking': the composition and purpose of the Plan of a Dictionary 3. 'I can do it in three years': a false start to the Dictionary 4. 'Ended, though not Completed': the first edition published 5. 'I know not how to get loose': the Fourth Edition 6. 'Unexpected truth': the use of poetical authorities 7. 'Factious in a factious age: theology and politics in the fourth edition 8. 'The world must, at present, take it as it is': Johnson's Dictionary after 1773 Appendix A: description of the Sneyd-Gimbel materials Appendix B: description of the British Library copy Appendix C: provenance and history of the Sneyd-Gimbel and British Library copies
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