About the Authors
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) was an English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. Johnson was a devout Anglican and committed Tory and has been described as “arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history.”
James Boswell (1740–1795), Scottish man of letters, was born in Edinburgh and studied civil law at Glasgow, but his true ambition was literary fame and the company of great men. In spring 1760 he ran away to London, where he first met Samuel Johnson. He eventually met Voltaire, Rousseau, and Paoli, the hero of Corsica, whom he Boswellized in Account of Corsica, which was an immediate success. In 1773 he was elected to Johnson’s famous literary club. After Johnson’s death and the publication of The Journal of the Tour of the Hebrides, another great success, he began his acknowledged masterpiece, The Life of Samuel Johnson.
About the Narrators
Patrick
Tull (1941–2006), born in the United Kingdom, was a multitalented actor of the stage, screen, and
television, as well as an award-winning audiobook narrator. He acted in
numerous American television shows from 1962 to 1996, including Crossroads, and he had roles in six Broadway plays between 1967 and
1992, including Amadeus. His film credits
from 1969 to 1996 included roles as Cecil in Parting Glances and Jerry the bartender in Sleepers. He served as narrator for the television series Sea Tales. He narrated nearly forty audiobooks,
and his readings of The Canterbury Tales,
The Letter of Marque, Monk’s Hood, The Vicar of Wakefield, and
How Green Was My Valley each earned
him an AudioFile Earphones Award. His narration of Patrick O’Brian’s
Aubrey/Maturin novels was praised by novelist Stephen King as among his ten favorite
audiobooks of 2006.
Alexander Spencer was born on July 31, 1946 in Cambuslang, Strathclyde, Scotland. He is an actor, known for The Soldier (1982).