The Brothers Boswell

(Paperback, Main)

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30th July, 1763. Two striking figures part the heaving crowd at London Bridge. Peddlers cease their haggling, ferrymen grow quiet, beggars stop and star. Even the stink of the Thames seems to fade in the presence of Dr Samuel Johnson and James Boswell - history's most famous friends.

Boswell, as charismatic and meticulously coiffed as Johnson is bullish and badly dressed, is eager to advance himself in literary society. Today he is to accompany the great Dr Johnson on an excursion up the Thames - and he is determined that nothing will go wrong.

But another Boswell is watching from the shadows, insanely jealous of his elder brother's meteoric rise through London's coffeehouses and whorehouses, tenements and theatres, soirees and salons. He has two golden pistols in his pocket, a ferryboat at his disposal. and murder in his heart.

Reviews

Fascinating... expect zestful writing and brilliant sketches of Georgian London * Sunday Times *
One of the novel's several wonders is that the mad brother is just as compelling a character as his soon-to-be-immortal sibling. If you're interested in Boswell and Johnson, or in 18th-century England, or in brilliant storytelling, The Brothers Boswell is not to be missed * Washington Post *
A chilling literary thriller... The subtle way the author examines his character's twisted mind draws the reader in, as does the evocative prose * Publishers Weekly *

Author Bio

Philip Baruth is a novelist and an award-winning commentator for Vermont Public Radio. His last book, The X President, which traced the attempts of a 109-year-old Bill Clinton to rewrite his historical legacy, was selected as a New York Times Notable Book of 2003. He is a graduate of Brown Univeristy with an MA and PhD from University of California (Irvine). He teaches writing and the 18th century novel at the University of Vermont in Burlington.