Shorter novels, vol. 3

Name: Shorter novels, vol. 3
Author: Samuel Johnson

By Samuel Johnson

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About This Book

The volume collects three late-eighteenth-century short novels that contrast moral reflection, Gothic imagination, and Oriental fantasy. One is a compact philosophical narrative of reflective dialogues that probe the limits of earthly happiness and the vanity of human wishes. Another stages a melodramatic Gothic romance inside a claustrophobic castle, using supernatural incidents, ancestral secrets, and theatrical effect to unsettle certainties. The third offers an opulent Oriental fantasia in which excess, forbidden knowledge, and infernal retribution propel a degenerate court toward doom. Together they map changing tastes between classical reason and the emerging romantic appetite for wonder and terror.

About the Author

Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was an influential English writer and lexicographer, best known for his comprehensive dictionary, "A Dictionary of the English Language," which laid the groundwork for modern lexicography. His literary contributions span various genres, including poetry, essays, and biography. Johnson's works often reflect his keen insight into human nature and society, as seen in his notable titles such as "A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland" and "Lives of the English Poets." He was a prominent figure in the literary circles of his time, engaging with contemporaries like James Boswell, whose biography of Johnson remains a classic. His legacy endures in the realms of literature and language.