This Companion provides a unique introduction and guide to the works and life of one of the key figures in English literary history. The source of endless familiar aphorisms, the compiler of the first great dictionary in English, the greatest of essayists, and one of the most distinctive characters and conversationalists in our literary culture, Johnson is here surveyed in his entirety. Chapters on the major works, his life, conversation, letters and critical reception appear alongside fresh thematic essays, a chronology and a guide to further reading.