London Journal, 1762-1763

A new edition of one of the most revealing portraits of eighteenth- century London Edinburgh-born James Boswell, at twenty-two, kept a daily diary of his eventful second stay in London from 1762 through 1763. Not discovered for more than 150 years, this journal presents a deft, frank, and artful record of adventures ranging from his vividly recounted love affair with a Covent Garden actress, to his first amusingly bruising meeting with Samuel Johnson, to whom Boswell would later become both friend and biographer. The diarist recounts his scuffles at the notoriously unruly London theater, sojourns into the dangerous streets at night armed with a cudgel, and hours passed at the coffee houses discussing the politics of the day. Witty and gloriously candid, this is a testament both to Boswell's talents and London's eternal appeal.