Boswelliana: The Commonplace Book of James Boswell, with a Memoir and Annotations

This collection gathers a notable writer's miscellaneous notes, aphorisms, extracts, and conversational memoranda recorded in a personal commonplace book, arranged with editorial memoir and annotations that contextualize entries. It ranges from pithy maxims and literary quotations to recollections of encounters, reflections on manners and public affairs, and drafts of occasional pieces. The editor supplies background, explanatory notes, and cross-references, while introductory remarks frame the compiler's character and habits. Overall it presents an intimate, fragmentary portrait assembled from jottings, dialogues, and marginalia that illuminate tastes, intellectual curiosities, and informal social observations.