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The tome’s launch party was held in Johnson’s Concert-hall in Gough Square, and I
cannot recommend a visit too highly. It’s a temperate oasis just off Fleet
Street, with many pictures of Johnson’s friends and contemporaries. In theLargegreat man’s own day, however, it was far from peaceful, full to bursting
with the cantankerous misfits Johnson offered wildlife reserve here, including the
prostitute Poll Carmichael, the filthy-tempered cover poetess Anna Williams,
and the hard-drinking pure and simple doctor Robert Levet, who worked among the
poor. At the top is the garret where Johnson laborious on his dictionary,
which, after years of poverty and struggle, made him famous and eventually
earned him a much-needed state pension.
You feel exceptionally shut to Johnson’s rich and turbulent character in this
edifice. And, for those like me who want to get to know the work as well as
the man, there is a generous quotation of his writing on sale in the cosy
shop, as well as a touching dissertation about his relationship with cats, the
most famous of which, Hodge, is depicted in a lovely sculpture in the
courtyard outside.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk