First published in 1925, this book presents a well-known collection of anecdotes by Samuel Johnson. The anecdotes were recorded and compiled by the British author and diarist Hester Lynch Thrale (1741–1821), who became Hester Lynch Piozzi following her second marriage. The original version of the text was published in 1786, shortly after Johnson's death in 1784. An editorial introduction and bibliography were created for this Cambridge edition. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Johnson, Thrale and eighteenth-century thought.