Samuel Johnson
Wit, wisdom and better than Wordle: why you should visit Dr Johnson’s birthplace museum
You don’t need to have tired of London to enjoy this attraction celebrating the great lexicographer in his home town of Lichfield
Vanessa Thorpe
25, Jun, 2022 @1:00 PM
Crossword blog: the many pronunciations of ‘garage’ and ‘eyrie’
We look at words with multiple pronunciations and share distractions in our pick of the best of the broadsheets’ cryptic clues
Alan Connor
09, Aug, 2021 @10:29 AM
The 10 best statues in Britain – chosen by our critic
There’s more to British statues than the ones of Colston and Rhodes highlighted by BLM. From Damien Hirst’s sword-fighter to a cat called Hodge, our critic picks his top 10
Jonathan Jones
10, Jun, 2020 @4:49 PM
Hail, Coriolanus! The greatness of Shakespeare's shape-shifting epic
From Olivier’s strangled fury to Ralph Fiennes’ Oedipal embraces, this complex political play is extraordinarily flexible
Michael Billington
05, Mar, 2020 @6:00 AM
The revival of his forgotten Ottoman play shows Dr Johnson isn’t just a dead white male | Jerry Brotton
The staging of his only play, set in 15th-century Constantinople, allows a fresh conversation about decolonising English literature, says author Jerry Brotton
Jerry Brotton
14, Nov, 2019 @12:40 PM
First You Write a Sentence by Joe Moran review – how good writing makes sense of the world
Love verbs and go easy with nouns, and end a sentence on a stressed syllable ... Thoughtful reflections on how to write
John Mullan
03, Oct, 2018 @6:30 AM
Judgmentalism over giving beggars belief | Letters
Letters: Donors have no right to decide how money they give to someone begging in the street should be spent, argues Peter Kaan. Plus thoughts from Peter Haydon and Jeremy Muldowney
Letters
18, Mar, 2018 @6:05 PM
The 100 best nonfiction books: No 86 – A Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson (1755)
Dr Johnson’s decade-long endeavour framed the English language for the coming centuries with clarity, intelligence and extraordinary wit
Robert McCrum
25, Sep, 2017 @4:45 AM
How well do you know Samuel Johnson's dictionary? – quiz
As a popular search engine marks the great lexicographer’s birthday, it’s a good time for some defining questions. Can you get them right without Googling?
Alison Flood
18, Sep, 2017 @10:26 AM
100 best nonfiction books: No 77 – The Life of Samuel Johnson LLD by James Boswell (1791)
This huge work is one of the greatest of all English biographies and a testament to one of the great literary friendships
Robert McCrum
24, Jul, 2017 @4:44 AM
Brothers of the Quill: Oliver Goldsmith in Grub Street by Norma Clarke – review
A lively account of 18th-century London’s literary underworld centres on the author of The Vicar of Wakefield
John Mullan
11, Feb, 2017 @9:00 AM
Fanny Burney wrote one of the most courageous pieces of work I’ve ever encountered
The diarist and novelist was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1810 and wrote an account of her ‘terrible operation’ for her sisters
Jenni Murray
07, Oct, 2016 @9:01 AM
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