This three-volume work provides a detailed description of the complete papers of James Boswell, the famous eighteenth-century diarist and biographer of Samuel Johnson. The collection, held at Yale University, contains over 10,000 items and is considered one of the most significant in the literary world.
Thoroughly indexed thematically and by name, the Catalogue offers a wealth of new information not only on Boswell but also on the society in which he lived and the illustrious people--from Voltaire to King George III--about whom he wrote. Volume I is devoted to journals, manuscripts, and letters written by James Boswell. Volume II deals with letters to James Boswell and relevant manuscripts not by Boswell. Volume III continues Volume II and adds printed matter, accounts, and legal papers. Items are described, summarized, and quoted. Subjects illuminated in the Catalogue include agriculture, travel, education, law, literature, theater, political patronage, government, economics, marriage, prostitution, religion, and relations between the social classes. The three-volume set will be a uniquely valuable research tool and reference work for all literary scholars and historians of the eighteenth century.