Defining the World

Defining the World
Author :
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages : 384
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781429928946
ISBN-13 : 1429928948
Rating : 4/5 (948 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Defining the World by : Henry Hitchings

Download or read book Defining the World written by Henry Hitchings and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2006-10-17 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[A] marvelous account” of Johnson’s towering achievement, nearly a decade of labor and linguistic fact-finding, presented by “a buoyant, zestful writer” (The Boston Globe). By the early eighteenth century, France and Italy had impressive lexicons, but there was no authoritative dictionary of English. Impelled by a mixture of national pride and commercial expedience, the prodigious polymath Samuel Johnson embraced the task, turning over the garret of his London home to the creation of his own giant dictionary. Johnson imagined that he could complete the job in three years. But the complexity of English meant that his estimate was wildly inadequate. Only after he had expended nearly a decade of his prime on the task did the dictionary finally appear—magisterial yet quirky, dogmatic but generous of spirit, and steeped in the richness of English literature. It would come to be seen as the most important British cultural monument of the eighteenth century, and its influence fanned out across Europe and throughout Britain’s colonies—including, crucially, America. Brilliantly entertaining and enlightening, Defining the World is the story of Johnson’s heroic endeavor. In alphabetically sequenced chapters, Henry Hitchings describes Johnson’s adventure—his ambition and vision, his moments of despair, the mistakes he made along the way, and his ultimate triumph.


Defining the World Related Books

Defining the World
Language: en
Pages: 384
Authors: Henry Hitchings
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 2006-10-17 - Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“[A] marvelous account” of Johnson’s towering achievement, nearly a decade of labor and linguistic fact-finding, presented by “a buoyant, zestful writer
Johnson's Dictionary
Language: en
Pages: 482
Authors: Samuel Johnson
Categories: Reference
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013-02-13 - Publisher: Courier Corporation

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Written virtually single-handedly over a seven-year period by a revered dean of English letters, Johnson’s Dictionary first appeared in 1755. A remarkable mon
Johnson's Dictionary
Language: en
Pages: 0
Authors: David Dabydeen
Categories: Demerara
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013 - Publisher: Peepal Tree Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An historical adventure through London and the sugar-cane colony of Demerara, British Guyana. David Dabydeen takes inspiration from the art of Hogarth and its d
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Language: en
Pages: 488
Authors: Samuel Johnson
Categories: Reference
Type: BOOK - Published: 1981 - Publisher: Pantheon

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language
Language: en
Pages: 870
Authors: Samuel Johnson
Categories: Reference
Type: BOOK - Published: 1994 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK