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Editorial Reviews. Review. The Club is a stimulating and delightful work. The portraits of Boswell, Gibbon, and Burke are extraordinary condensations granting.
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Examining a wide range of structures, including the British Museum, the Law Courts, The original manuscript of James Boswell's Life of Johnson—a composite of his basic draft and The original manuscript of James Boswell's Life of Johnson—a composite of his basic draft and innumerable revisions—served as printer's copy, despite its maze-like appearance.

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The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age by Leo Damrosch

NOOK Book. See All Customer Reviews. Shop Books. Add to Wishlist. USD Sign in to Purchase Instantly. This is the story of an extraordinary group of people whose ideas helped to shape their age, and our own. About the Author. He lives in Newton, MA. Hometown: Newton, Massachusetts. It contains some interesting theories on the real nature of Johnson's relationship with Hester Thrale.

Leo Damrosch - The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age

It includes a lot of the stupid things that Boswell did and said during his lifetime, most of which we can do without. Boswell was an ass but he was also the artist who left us with a masterpiece. I like how William Gaddis This is largely a rehash of Boswell's The Life of Johnson with additional biographical details on each of the major members of the Literary Club that Johnson helped to found.

I like how William Gaddis describes the artist in The Recognitions: A bag of bones dragged about by the work of art. This book was a little disappointing in that it didn't offer a lot of new and interesting information on the characters who populate The Life. But I am glad I read it. Mar 01, Angie Boyter rated it liked it Shelves: netgalley.

An intellectual history of the late eighteenth century through the lives of some remarkable men Eighteenth-century England was a lively place! Captain Cook was exploring the South Seas.

Playwrights like Richard Sheridan and Oliver Goldsmith were writing plays we still enjoy, and David Garrick was acting in them. Adam Smith was inventing modern economics. And so on. Despite the breadth of the innovation, exploration, and accomplishments in that era, though, the cast of characters who played major An intellectual history of the late eighteenth century through the lives of some remarkable men Eighteenth-century England was a lively place! Despite the breadth of the innovation, exploration, and accomplishments in that era, though, the cast of characters who played major roles all seemed to know one another!

The Club focuses on one small remarkable group of men who gathered for camaraderie and stimulating conversation and uses their lives to open the door onto the big picture of the intellectual life of the period. It is amazing how such a small group could have so much influence in their own time and later.

These are practically all names we remember: Samuel Johnson for his dictionary and literary criticism, James Boswell for biography, Edmund Burke for his oratory, Edward Gibbon for his history, Adam Smith for economics, Sir Joshua Reynolds for painting, David Garrick for acting, and even Joseph Banks, who traveled with Captain Cook and later was president of the Royal Society.

The other members each get a chapter, and even in those chapters there is a lot of description of their interaction with Boswell and Johnson. The activities of the Club itself take up only a fairly small part of the book. No matter who or what the subject is at any time, though, Damrosch gives the bigger picture as well, on subjects like religious controversy, matters of class, and similar social issues.

There are a lot of a lot of interesting detours. There is interesting history of the emergence of the modern magazine during this period and the difficulty of making a living as a writer Some things never change. The Club provides a vivid narrative picture, so it is only fitting that it should include illustrations provided by the art of the day.

Damrosch describes the many artworks that are shown in the book, which was very helpful, because he explains the significance of small details in the pictures that the reader could miss or not understand and also because, in the Kindle edition at least, the details were not legible, even when I enlarged the picture to full-screen size.

At its best The Club is a fascinating broad sweeping portrait that also teems with delightful factoids and sidebars. It quotes extensively from sources contemporary to and some earlier than the Club members and from sources contemporary to Damrosch.


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    4. At its worst it is annoying or confusing, as Damrosch cannot help sharing his genuinely encyclopedic knowledge of history. Why are we talking about Ben Jonson? Damrosch then tells us that Tarry Woo is one of the few songs that Sir Walter Scott was willing to sing in company. Scott was not born until So why was he mentioned here? When I see detours like this I then look to see how they tie into the subject, but often they are simply Damrosch sharing his love of information.

    Readers who expect a tightly focused history of The Club based on the book title may be disappointed. If you want to enjoy it, I recommend that you approach it as Damrosch does his description of the artwork in the book: there is a lot going on, and sometimes you need to see the little details in order to get the big picture. Dec 29, Ivor Armistead rated it really liked it. Reading "The Club" was enlightening in several respects. First, I am enthralled by idea of a group of accomplished men today, happily, it would be men and women gathering weekly over food and drink for the primary purpose of enlightening conversation.

    A century and a half later, Winston Churchill was among the founders of a similar institution, the "Other Club. However, Boswell's "Life of Johnson" sits unread on a shelf in my library and, having read "The Club," Boswell's work however famous is likely to remain in that state. To me, Johnson comes across as an intolerant prig and Boswell as a debauched sycophant. Happily the chapters on several of the other members of The Club are more rewarding, particularly Edward Gibbon, who really does seem like someone with whom I might really have enjoyed having a meal.

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    According to Leo Damrosch, Gibbon was fond of recalling a statement by William Temple a 16th century British Diplomat to the effect that the "gratifications of the public world are nothing compared with 'old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to converse with, and old books to read. Jul 05, Caroline Breashears is currently reading it. Damrosch is really nailing it with Johnson and Boswell, though he has an unfortunate tendency to prefer raunchy anecdotes. His chapter on Garrick is also solid. His account of Adam Smith, however, is superficial and biased.

    View 1 comment. May 04, Mandy rated it it was amazing. Among its members were many of the greatest intellects of the time, from Samuel Johnson to Adam Smith, Joshua Reynolds to Edward Gibbon, Edmund Burke to David Garrick — they are all to be found in this wonderfully entertaining group biography. As a portrait of London society at that particularly time it certainly brings the era and the people to life.

    Insightful, well-researched, with many illustrations to enhance the text, I found it a thoroughly enjoyable and illuminating read. May 20, Mary Rose rated it really liked it Shelves: historyth-century , history , history-england , giveaways. In this chapter on Edward Gibbon, Damrosch writes: "Many historians, even today, have been tempted to write as if they had a total understanding of what happened long ago. But the best historians have always known that readers learn much more from being taken behind the scenes, pondering the available evidence along with the author.

    Much of the time the evidence is far from conclusive, and then the historian's job is to help us evaluate it.