swap_horiz Samuel Johnson Alternatives

1

Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson

James Boswell’s *Life of Samuel Johnson* provides an unparalleled firsthand account of the famed 18th-century writer. Th...

18TH Century Literature British Boswell

9.00 Excellent

2

Washington: A Life

Ron Chernow’s *Washington: A Life* offers an in-depth portrait of George Washington, the first president and pivotal fig...

18TH Century American Founding Father Chernow

8.70 Great

3

The Wager

David Grann’s *The Wager* recounts the extraordinary story of the British naval ship HMS Wager lost in 1741 during the W...

18TH Century History Survival Naval

8.60 Great

4

John Keats

John Keats’s life and work are examined in detail by Walter Jackson Bate’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography. The book of...

Literature British Romantic Era Bate

8.50 Great

5

My Early Life

My Early Life is Winston Churchill’s 1930 memoir recounting his experiences as a young officer and journalist. The book...

British Political Victorian Memoir

8.50 Great

6

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Catherine the Great is a comprehensive biography detailing the rise of Empress Elizabeth Franzovna of Russia. Robert K....

Russian 18TH Century Political Massie

8.30 Great

7

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin offers a detailed account of the life and times of one of America’s most influent...

18TH Century American Autobiography Founding Father

8.30 Great

8

Virginia Woolf: A Biography

Virginia Woolf: A Biography by Quentin Bell provides a detailed account of the life and work of the influential British...

Literature British Modernism Bell

8.30 Great

9

Surprised by Joy

Surprised by Joy details C.S. Lewis’s transformative journey from a prominent atheist scholar to a devout Christian. The...

Conversion British Spiritual Memoir

8.30 Great

10

The Life of Charlotte Brontë

The Life of Charlotte Brontë, penned by Elizabeth Gaskell, offers a detailed portrait of the renowned Victorian writer....

Literature British Victorian Gaskell

8.20 Great

11

Down and Out in Paris and London

George Orwell’s *Down and Out in Paris and London* details his firsthand account of extreme poverty during a period of s...

British 1930S Memoir Poverty

8.20 Great

12

The Road to Wigan Pier

George Orwell’s *The Road to Wigan Pier* offers a stark portrayal of poverty and working-class life in industrial northe...

British Memoir Working Class Poverty

8.15 Great

13

Zelda

Zelda Fitzgerald’s life is meticulously detailed in Nancy Milford's biography. The book investigates the experiences of...

American Literature 1920S Milford

8.10 Great

14

Marie Antoinette: The Journey

Antonia Fraser’s *Marie Antoinette: The Journey* offers a comprehensive biography of the last Queen of France. It meticu...

18TH Century French Political Fraser

8.00 Great

15

Will in the World

Will in the World examines the intersection of William Shakespeare’s personal experiences and the cultural context of El...

Literature British Shakespeare Greenblatt

8.00 Great

16

Hemingway: A Life Story

Ernest Hemingway’s life is meticulously documented in Carlos Baker’s 1969 biography. The work provides a detailed accoun...

American 20TH Century Literature Baker

8.00 Great

17

Victoria: The Queen

Julia Baird’s 2016 biography offers a detailed account of Queen Victoria’s remarkable life and sixty-three year rule. Th...

British Political Victorian Baird

8.00 Great

18

My Own Story

This memoir offers a firsthand account of Emmeline Pankhurst’s leadership within the British Women’s Social and Politica...

British Political Memoir Pankhurst

8.00 Great

19

The Feather Thief

"The Feather Thief" is a 2018 true-crime book by Kirk Wallace Johnson that investigates a 2009 break-in at the Natural H...

Narrative True Crime British Museum

7.80 Good

20

Elizabeth the Queen

*Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch* is a 2012 biography by Sally Bedell Smith that chronicles the life o...

20TH Century British Smith Royalty

7.80 Good