author
George Birkbeck Norman Hill
1835–1903
Best known for bringing Boswell’s Life of Johnson to new generations of readers, this Victorian editor and author combined careful scholarship with a real affection for literary history. His work helped shape how many readers came to know Samuel Johnson and his circle.
3 Audiobooks
Footsteps of Dr. Johnson (Scotland)
by George Birkbeck Norman Hill
The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the History of Penny Postage, Vol. 2 (of 2)
by Sir Rowland Hill, George Birkbeck Norman Hill
The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the History of Penny Postage, Vol. 1 (of 2)
by Sir Rowland Hill, George Birkbeck Norman Hill
About the author
Born in 1835, he was an English editor and author with strong ties to Oxford, where he studied at Pembroke College and formed friendships with figures including Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. He later became especially known for his literary work on Samuel Johnson and James Boswell.
His reputation rests largely on his editions of Boswell’s Life of Johnson and on other Johnson-related books, including Johnsonian Miscellanies and Footsteps of Dr. Johnson. He also wrote on family history, notably collaborating on The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the History of Penny Postage.
He died in 1903. Today he is remembered chiefly as a patient, influential editor whose work made eighteenth-century literary life feel vivid and accessible to later readers.