The first literary celebrity: portrayed by Boswell as an idle pensioner, Samuel Johnson in fact spent most of his life working furiously as a hack. It was the 18th century's burgeoning print culture that made him famous--and which created the need for his most famous work

Dr Johnson's Dictionary: the extraordinary story of the book that defined the world Henry Hitchings John Murray, 278pp, £14.99 Reading is my second favourite pastime--but rereading is my favourite. Henry [...]