Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lives_of_the_Most_Eminent_English_Poets

Release date is 2003-11-01

Addison -- Savage -- Swift.

Transcribed from the 1888 Cassell & Company edition by Les Bowler

"Johnson's Lives of the Poets — Volume 1" by Samuel Johnson is a collection of biographies written between 1779-81. Commissioned by London publishers to compete with Scottish editions, Johnson crafted biographical sketches and critical assessments of 52 English poets, mostly from the eighteenth century. Though some prefaces began as brief introductions, many expanded into substantial explorations of each poet's life, character, and work. Johnson's judgments proved controversial from publication, with critics challenging his views on Milton, Gray, and Swift, among others. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Original publication data not identified