Deformities of Samuel Johnson, Selected from His Works

A sharply satirical pamphlet from the turbulent 1790s, this collection gathers the most biting excerpts of a long‑forgotten campaign against Dr. Samuel Johnson. Compiled from the original anonymous attacks of James Thomson Callender, the text lays bare the sharply crafted insults and moral judgments that reflected the fevered politics of post‑Revolutionary America and England. The edition preserves the period’s quirks—archaic spelling, uneven quotation marks, and occasional printing errors—while offering unobtrusive editorial notes that help modern ears follow the dense rhetoric.

Listening to the work feels like stepping into a lively salon where literary reputation and political allegiance collide. The scholarly introduction and detailed footnotes frame the scandalous language, revealing how Callender’s ferocious pen was as much a weapon of partisan battle as of personal vendetta. Listeners gain a vivid glimpse into an era when pamphleteers could shape reputations with a single, well‑aimed syllable, and they hear the enduring echo of a literary feud that still intrigues scholars today.