A timely look at Johnson’s legacy

Samuel Johnson: A Biography. By Peter Martin, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, €31.75

Samuel Johnson: A Biography. By Peter Martin, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, €31.75

The secret of being an important figure of your time is to be seen to embody the essence of that time. The secret of being an important figure in history is to be seen to embody the essence of modernity as well - to remain both a thoroughly historical and yet somehow modern figure.

Although he is locked in the public imagination ...