A major academic controversy has raged in recent years over the analysis of the political and religious commitments of Samuel Johnson, the most commanding of the 'commanding heights' of eighteenth-century English letters. This book, one of a trilogy from Palgrave, brings that debate to a decisive conclusion, retrieving the 'historic Johnson.'

Contents Acknowledgements List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Preface Abbreviations Introduction The Nature of Johnson's Toryism Cultures and Coteries in Mid-Century Toryism: Johnson in Oxford and London Johnson's Touch-piece and the 'Charge of Fame' 'Ask for the Old Paths': Johnson and the Nonjurors Johnson: the Last Choices, 1775-1784 Conclusion