Editing Samuel Johnson (section)

===Later career===
{{See also|The Plays of William Shakespeare|The Idler (1758–1760)|The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia}}
[[File:Samuel Johnson by John Opie.jpg|thumb|Johnson, by [[John Opie]]]]
On 16 March 1756, Johnson was arrested for an outstanding debt of £5 18[[Shilling|s]]. Unable to contact anyone else, he wrote to the writer and publisher Samuel Richardson. Richardson, who had previously lent Johnson money, sent him six [[Guinea (coin)|guineas]] to show his good will, and the two became friends.<ref name="Bate p. 321">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=321}}</ref> Soon after, Johnson met and befriended the painter Joshua Reynolds, who so impressed Johnson that he declared him "almost the only man whom I call a friend".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=324}}</ref> Reynolds's younger sister Frances observed during their time together "that men, women and children gathered around him [Johnson]", laughing at his gestures and gesticulations.<ref name=Murray1611>{{Harvnb|Murray|1979|p=1611}}</ref> In addition to Reynolds, Johnson was close to [[Bennet Langton]] and [[Arthur Murphy (writer)|Arthur Murphy]]. Langton was a scholar and an admirer of Johnson who persuaded his way into a meeting with Johnson which led to a long friendship. Johnson met Murphy during the summer of 1754 after Murphy came to Johnson about the accidental republishing of the ''Rambler'' No. 190, and the two became friends.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|pp=322–323}}</ref> Around this time, [[Anna Williams (poet)|Anna Williams]] began boarding with Johnson. She was a minor poet who was poor and becoming blind, two conditions that Johnson attempted to change by providing room for her and paying for a failed cataract surgery. Williams, in turn, became Johnson's housekeeper.<ref>{{Harvnb|Martin|2008|p=319}}</ref>

To occupy himself, Johnson began to work on ''The Literary Magazine, or Universal Review'', the first issue of which was printed on 19 March 1756. Philosophical disagreements erupted over the purpose of the publication when the [[Seven Years' War]] began and Johnson started to write polemical essays attacking the war. After the war began, the ''Magazine'' included many reviews, at least 34 of which were written by Johnson.<ref name="Bate p. 328">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=328}}</ref> When not working on the ''Magazine'', Johnson wrote a series of prefaces for other writers, such as [[Giuseppe Baretti]], [[William Payne (mathematician)|William Payne]] and Charlotte Lennox.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=329}}</ref> Johnson's relationship with Lennox and her works was particularly close during these years, and she in turn relied so heavily upon Johnson that he was "the most important single fact in Mrs Lennox's literary life".<ref>{{Harvnb|Clarke|2000|pp=221–222}}</ref> He later attempted to produce a new edition of her works, but even with his support they were unable to find enough interest to follow through with its publication.<ref>{{Harvnb|Clarke|2000|pp=223–224}}</ref> To help with domestic duties while Johnson was busy with his various projects, Richard Bathurst, a physician and a member of Johnson's Club, pressured him to take on a freed slave, [[Francis Barber]], as his servant.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|pp=325–326}}</ref>
{{The Club|caption=A literary party, 1781, of Johnson (second from left) and other [[The Club (Literary Club)#Members|members of "The Club"]]|align=left}}
Johnson's work on ''[[The Plays of William Shakespeare]]'' took up most of his time. On 8 June 1756, Johnson published his ''[[The Plays of William Shakespeare#Proposal|Proposals for Printing, by Subscription, the Dramatick Works of William Shakespeare]]'', which argued that previous editions of Shakespeare were edited incorrectly and needed to be corrected.<ref name="Bate p. 330">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=330}}</ref> Johnson's progress on the work slowed as the months passed, and he told music historian [[Charles Burney]] in December 1757 that it would take him until the following March to complete it. Before that could happen, he was arrested again, for a debt of £40, in February 1758. The debt was soon repaid by [[Jacob Tonson]], who had contracted Johnson to publish ''Shakespeare'', and this encouraged Johnson to finish his edition to repay the favour. Although it took him another seven years to finish, Johnson completed a few volumes of his ''Shakespeare'' to prove his commitment to the project.<ref name="Bate p. 332">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=332}}</ref>

In 1758, Johnson began to write a weekly series, ''[[The Idler (1758–60)|The Idler]]'', which ran from 15 April 1758 to 5 April 1760, as a way to avoid finishing his ''Shakespeare''. This series was shorter and lacked many features of ''The Rambler''. Unlike his independent publication of ''The Rambler'', ''The Idler'' was published in a weekly news journal ''The Universal Chronicle'', a publication supported by John Payne, [[John Newbery]], Robert Stevens and William Faden.<ref name="Bate p. 334">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=334}}</ref>

Since ''The Idler'' did not occupy all Johnson's time, he was able to publish his philosophical novella ''[[The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia|Rasselas]]'' on 19 April 1759. The "little story book", as Johnson described it, describes the life of Prince Rasselas and Nekayah, his sister, who are kept in a place called the Happy Valley in the land of Abyssinia. The Valley is a place free of problems, where any desire is quickly satisfied. The constant pleasure does not, however, lead to satisfaction; and, with the help of a philosopher named Imlac, Rasselas escapes and explores the world to witness how all aspects of society and life in the outside world are filled with suffering. They return to Abyssinia, but do not wish to return to the state of constantly fulfilled pleasures found in the Happy Valley.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|pp=337–338}}</ref> ''Rasselas'' was written in one week to pay for his mother's funeral and settle her debts; it became so popular that there was a new English edition of the work almost every year. References to it appear in many later works of fiction, including ''[[Jane Eyre]]'', ''[[Cranford (novel)|Cranford]]'' and ''[[The House of the Seven Gables]]''. Its fame was not limited to English-speaking nations: ''Rasselas'' was immediately translated into five languages (French, Dutch, German, Russian and Italian), and later into nine others.<ref name="Bate p. 337">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=337}}</ref>

[[File:George Willison - James Boswell, 1740 - 1795. Diarist and biographer of Dr Samuel Johnson - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[James Boswell]] at 25, by [[George Willison (artist)|George Willison]]]]

By 1762, however, Johnson had gained notoriety for his dilatoriness in writing; the contemporary poet [[Charles Churchill (satirist)|Churchill]] teased Johnson for the delay in producing his long-promised edition of Shakespeare: "He for subscribers baits his hook / and takes your cash, but where's the book?"<ref name="Bate p. 391">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=391}}</ref> The comments soon motivated Johnson to finish his ''Shakespeare'', and, after receiving the first payment from a government pension on 20 July 1762, he was able to dedicate most of his time towards this goal.<ref name="Bate p. 391"/> Earlier that July, the 24-year-old King [[George III]] granted Johnson an annual pension of £300 in appreciation for the ''Dictionary''.<ref name="Bate Achievement p. 36"/> While the pension did not make Johnson wealthy, it did allow him a modest yet comfortable independence for the remaining 22 years of his life.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=356}}</ref> The award came largely through the efforts of [[Thomas Sheridan (actor)|Sheridan]] and the [[John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute|Earl of Bute]]. When Johnson questioned if the pension would force him to promote a political agenda or support various officials, he was told by Bute that the pension "is not given you for anything you are to do, but for what you have done".<ref name="Bate p. 354-356">{{Harvnb|Boswell|1986|pp=354–356}}</ref>

On 16 May 1763, Johnson first met 22-year-old [[James Boswell]]—who would later become Johnson's first major biographer—in the bookshop of Johnson's friend, [[Thomas Davies (bookseller)|Tom Davies]]. They quickly became friends, although Boswell would return to his home in Scotland or travel abroad for months at a time.<ref name="Bate p. 360">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=360}}</ref> Around the spring of 1763, Johnson formed "[[The Club (dining club)|The Club]]", a social group that included his friends Reynolds, [[Edmund Burke|Burke]], Garrick, [[Oliver Goldsmith|Goldsmith]] and others (the membership later expanded to include [[Adam Smith]] and [[Edward Gibbon]], in addition to Boswell himself). They decided to meet every Monday at 7:00&nbsp;pm at the Turk's Head in [[Gerrard Street, London|Gerrard Street]], [[Soho]], and these meetings continued until long after the deaths of the original members.<ref name="Bate p. 366">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=366}}</ref>

On 9 January 1765, Murphy introduced Johnson to [[Henry Thrale]], a wealthy brewer and [[Member of Parliament|MP]], and his wife [[Hester Thrale|Hester]]. They struck up an instant friendship; Johnson was treated as a member of the family, and was once more motivated to continue working on his ''Shakespeare''.<ref name="Bate p. 393">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=393}}</ref> Afterwards, Johnson stayed with the Thrales for 17 years until Henry's death in 1781, sometimes staying in rooms at Thrale's [[Anchor Brewery, Southwark|Anchor Brewery]] in [[Southwark]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Wain|1974|p=262}}</ref> Hester Thrale's documentation of Johnson's life during this time, in her correspondence and her diary (''[[Thraliana]]''), became an important source of biographical information on Johnson after his death.<ref name="Keymer p. 186">{{Harvnb|Keymer|1999|p=186}}</ref>

{{quote box|width=35em|align=left|quote=During the whole of the interview, Johnson talked to his Majesty with profound respect, but still in his firm manly manner, with a sonorous voice, and never in that subdued tone which is commonly used at the levee and in the drawing-room. After the King withdrew, Johnson shewed himself highly pleased with his Majesty's conversation and gracious behaviour. He said to Mr Barnard, 'Sir, they may talk of the King as they will; but he is the finest gentleman I have ever seen.'<ref name="Boswell p. 135">{{Harvnb|Boswell|1986|p= 135}}</ref>|source=Boswell's ''Life of Samuel Johnson''}}

Johnson's edition of ''Shakespeare'' was finally published on 10 October 1765 as ''The Plays of William Shakespeare, in Eight Volumes&nbsp;... To which are added Notes by Sam. Johnson'' in a printing of one thousand copies. The first edition quickly sold out, and a second was soon printed.<ref name="Bate p. 395">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=395}}</ref> The plays themselves were in a version that Johnson felt was closest to the original, based on his analysis of the manuscript editions. Johnson's revolutionary innovation was to create a set of corresponding notes that allowed readers to clarify the meaning behind many of Shakespeare's more complicated passages, and to examine those which had been transcribed incorrectly in previous editions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=397}}</ref> Included within the notes are occasional attacks upon rival editors of Shakespeare's works.<ref>{{Harvnb|Wain|1974|p=194}}</ref> Years later, [[Edmond Malone]], an important Shakespearean scholar and friend of Johnson's, stated that Johnson's "vigorous and comprehensive understanding threw more light on his authour than all his predecessors had done".<!-- NOTE: "authour" is the sourced spelling--><ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=396}}</ref>