Samuel Johnson

Johnson’s late-life devotion to Hester Thrale caused a massive social rift - his intense emotional bond with the brewer's wife alienated his inner circle and led to a devastating fallout when she eventually remarried.

James Boswell’s jealousy shaped the narrative of Johnson’s life - the iconic biographer’s possessiveness over Johnson’s legacy created significant tension among the friends competing for the Great Man's attention.

The specter of the madhouse haunted Johnson’s final years - despite his intellectual dominance, Johnson lived in constant terror of mental collapse and the brutal reality of 18th-century institutionalization.