I finished my last story set in 1909,for my new collection, and am now onto the next one. For this, I have to research certain social habits and constraints around 1750, and discovered Fanny Burney in the process. I’m reading her diaries to get a sense of how people thought and the style of language used then. I’ve just read something she wrote at the age of 16 which I found quite remarkable, and which she may have picked up from Samuel Johnson, [who she knew personally], as it seems to be a very sophisticated way of thinking about life at such an age:- ‘…those who wander in the world avowedly and purposely in search of happiness, who view every scene of present joy with an eye to what may succeed, certainly are more liable to disappointment, misfortune and sorrow, than those who give up their fate to chance and take the goods and evils of fortune as they come, without making happiness their study or misery their foresight.’
Johnson met and was charmed by Richard Savage back in 1730’s and it seems to me that having been so close to this damaged and narcissistic man would have led him to a conclusion such as that all by itself without having to have any other life experiences.
I am still in the process of reading Boswell’s Life of Johnson about which I had been writing here a while back. I hit a slightly boring part after the death of Tetty, Johnson’s wife, about whom Boswell was very discreet. I was then diverted hugely into reading about Johnson’s relationship with Savage in Richard Holme’s ‘Dr. Johnson and Mr. Savage’ [Harper Perennial 2005], and got off track with Boswell’s beautifully written book. Then in a completely different context I came across Fanny Burney, and through her link with Johnson, found my way back into thinking about him again. So before long, I’m going to get back into Boswell’s huge book and carry on with my ‘blog’ thoughts … or perhaps they are ‘bog’ thoughts.
