'A stellar literary event . . . written with panache and an enviable economy . . . the biggest risk of her literary life' Margaret Atwood According to Queeney is a masterly evocation of the last years of Dr Johnson, arguably Britain's greatest Man of Letters. The time is the 1770s and 1780s and Johnson, having completed his life's major work (he compiled the first ever Dictionary of the English Language) is running an increasingly chaotic life. Torn between his strict morality and his undeclared passion for Mrs Thrale, the ...
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'A stellar literary event . . . written with panache and an enviable economy . . . the biggest risk of her literary life' Margaret Atwood According to Queeney is a masterly evocation of the last years of Dr Johnson, arguably Britain's greatest Man of Letters. The time is the 1770s and 1780s and Johnson, having completed his life's major work (he compiled the first ever Dictionary of the English Language) is running an increasingly chaotic life. Torn between his strict morality and his undeclared passion for Mrs Thrale, the wife of an old friend, According to Queeney reveals one of Britain's most wonderful characters in all his wit and glory. Above all, though, this is a story of love and friendship and brilliantly narrated by Queeney, Mrs Thrale's daughter, looking back over her life.
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Add this copy of According to Queeney to cart. $2.26, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Time Warner Books UK.
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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.
