Book description
Beryl Bainbridge's latest novel is a masterly evocation of the last
years of Dr Johnson, arguably Britain's greatest Man of Letters. The
time is the 1770s and 1780s and Johnson, having completed his life's
major work (he compiled the first ever Dictionary of the English
Language) is running an increasingly chaotic life. Torn between his
strict morality and his undeclared passion for Mrs Thrale, the wife of
an old friend, ACCORDING TO QUEENEY reveals one of Britain's most
wonderful characters in all his wit and glory. Above all, though, this
is a story of love and friendship and brilliantly narrated by Queeney,
Mrs Thrale's daughter, looking back over her life. A few of Johnson
quotes: * Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures * No
man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money * When a man is tired
of London, he is tired of life Beryl Bainbridge wrote seventeen
novels, two travel books and five plays for stage and television, she
was shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, and won literary awards
including the Whitbread Prize and the Author of the Year Award at the
British Book Awards. She died in July 2010.
