Synopses & Reviews
One of the most renowned authors of the eighteenth century, Samuel Johnson became a symbol of English national identity in the century following his death in 1784. Nicholas Hudson examines his contribution to the creation of the modern English identity, focusing on his attitudes towards class, feminism, party politics, the public sphere, nationalism, and imperialism. This new view of Johnson reflects the nature of English nationhood.
About the Author
Nicholas Hudson is Professor of English at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of Samuel Johnson and Eighteenth-Century Thought (1988), Writing and European Thought, 1600-1830 (Cambridge, 1994), and of numerous essays on eighteenth-century literature, thought and culture.
Table of Contents
Introduction; 1. From 'rank' to 'class': the changing structures of English social hierarchy; 2. Constructing the middle-class woman; 3. From 'broad-bottom' to 'party': the rise of modern English politics; 4. 'The voice of the nation': the evolution of the 'public'; 5. The construction of English nationhood; 6. The material and ideological development of the British empire.