Described by some as the world's greatest biography in the English language, James Boswell's 1791 Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. was based on the original, 18-volume publication of his journals that recounted his meetings with Johnson over many years. In this abridged edition, Professor Charles Grosvenor Osgood has omitted extraneous comments and notes by Boswell, as well as Johnson's opinions on legal cases and matters of the day that many readers would now find unimportant. This edition retains those passages that show the true, larger-than-life character of Dr Johnson, his love of society and his inquiring mind, and, in so doing, reveals the fascinating environment of 18th-century England - and particularly London - in which Johnson lived.