In 1764, the great Samuel Johnson, irascible genius and the toast of all society, is plagued by ill health and has become jaded with his bickering dependants. Suffering from a bout of melancholy, he accepts an introduction to the table of Henry Thrale, a wealthy Southwark brewer, and his vivacious wife Hester. It is left to Hester's neglected oldest daughter, named after her mother but known as Queeney, prodigiously clever, spirited and mocking, to provide her own sharp commentary on the destruction that ensues.
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In 1764, the great Samuel Johnson, irascible genius and the toast of all society, is plagued by ill health and has become jaded with his bickering dependants. Suffering from a bout of melancholy, he accepts an introduction to the table of Henry Thrale, a wealthy Southwark brewer, and his vivacious wife Hester. It is left to Hester's neglected oldest daughter, named after her mother but known as Queeney, prodigiously clever, spirited and mocking, to provide her own sharp commentary on the destruction that ensues.
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This historical novel about Dr Samuel Johnson is written from the point of view of the women in his life, with imagination and sympathy. It covers a long period from the 1760s to the 1800s when some of them are looking back long after his death. The Johnson household is chaotic, shambolic and sometimes a bit like a madhouse as Johnson suffered from severe bouts of melancholy and symptoms of mania. Life in 18th century London is evoked in its rough squalor, with some gory details (the book starts with his autopsy just to get you warmed up). Bainbridge shows a real sensitivity in trying to recover the experience of women, both educated, such as Mrs Thrale, and uneducated, who came into contact with the "great man". This is a very different Johnson from the one described with veneration by Boswell. The use of letter form adds a distinct charm.
