BOSWELL, JAMES

Scottish man of letters, convert to Roman Catholicism; b. Edinburgh, Oct. 29, 1740; d. London, May 19, 1795. Boswell was the eldest son of Lord Auchinleck, of an old and staunchly Presbyterian family. Though he studied law and was admitted to the bar, he was always more attracted to literature. He visited Corsica in 1766 and first distinguished himself as a writer with his Account of Corsica (1768) and Essays in Favour of the Brave Corsicans (1769). Hero-worship stimulated his best writing and was the inspiration for his famous Life of Samuel Johnson (1791). As Johnson's guide he made the tour through Scotland that provided material for Tour to the Hebrides (1785). His copious journals, unpublished during his life, were discovered 135 years after his death.

Boswell was an eccentric and remarkable character, often vehemently attacked for his sycophancy, his conceit, and his immorality. His severest critics, however, are constrained to praise the charm and lucidity of his style and his gift for capturing the personalities of his acquaintances and the flavor of their conversations. Shrewd judgment and conscientious art underlie the deceptive ease of his narration. His writing is full of humor and captures unique pictures of life in Scotland and London in the 18th century.

At the age of 17 Boswell ran away to London and was received into the Catholic Church. As a Catholic in penal times he would have been prevented from following any professional career and from succeeding to the family estates. He accordingly concealed his conversion and did not live as a Catholic, although his journals contain many references to attending Mass. He avoided any formal abjuration of his beliefs, and on occasion argued with Dr. Johnson in defense of them. He left in his will a request for prayers for his soul, but this was suppressed by his heirs, who held no belief in purgatory.

Although devoted to his wife, Boswell was frequently unfaithful to her. He constantly expresses contrition for his marital lapses and for his bouts of drunkenness; he laments his weakness of character, which plunged him into periods of terrible despondency. He writes even of his own conceit and pretentiousness with candor and humility. The affection he inspired in men of high principle and discrimination is a tribute to his capacity for loyalty and friendship.

Bibliography: j. boswell, Note Book, 1776–1777, ed. r. w. chapman (London 1925); Private Papers of J. Boswell from Malahide Castle, ed. g. scott and f. a. pottle, 18 v. (London 1928–34); Letters, ed. c. b. tinker, 2 v. (London 1924); d. b. wyndham lewis, The Hooded Hawk (London 1946). The Yale edition of the Private Papers of James Boswell, ed. f. a. pottle et al. (New York): London Journal, 1762–1763, ed. f. a. pottle (1950); Boswell in Holland, 1763–1764 (1952); Boswell on the Grand Tour 2 v. (1953–55); Boswell in Search of a Wife, 1766–1769 (1956); Boswell for the Defence, 1769–1774 (1960); The Ominous Years, 1774–1776 (1963).

[g. scott-moncrieff]