Works of Samuel Johnson, Vol 16 : Rasselas and Other Tales

A new standard edition for three works by Samuel Johnson: Rasselas, “The Vision of Theodore,” and “The Fountains”   This volume brings together three of Johnson’s longest fictional pieces, showing the unusual similarities in some of their main themes and emphases.

Rasselas, a philosophical tale that embodies the full range of Johnson’s thinking on moral, psychological, and literary matters, has been described as central to an understanding of Johnson and his age. “The Vision of Theodore,” a moral allegory, and “The Fountains,” a fairy tale, demonstrate the variety of Johnson’s narrative skills.   The three works are introduced and annotated by Gwin J.

Kolb, an authority on Rasselas. The introductions set the scene surrounding the creation and printing of the texts and cover a wider range of topics than has been addressed in previous editions. And the historical notes, which concentrate on clarifying the meaning of numerous words, comprise the largest body of glosses that has ever accompanied the three pieces.

The textual notes provide a record of Johnson’s revisions of Rasselas and of Mrs. Piozzi’s manuscript transcription of “The Fountains.” This book will be the standard edition of these notable works.