ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to recuperate the many and various functions of Samuel Johnson and his works in the nineteenth century, and to shed light on changing Victorian notions of literary history, especially that of the eighteenth century. Johnson's nineteenth-century reputation has not been neglected by literary historians, but it has been oversimplified. The chapter argues for recognition of the continuing presence of Johnson in Victorian reading culture, but suggests that the fact did not necessarily imply a great interest in his age. It explores the renewal of enthusiasm for Johnson in critical and educational contexts towards the end of the nineteenth century, a shift in reading habits that both prompts and is part of a reappraisal of the eighteenth century in general. The paradigm shift engineered by nineteenth-century science may also have exerted an influence on models of literary history, fostering an interest in gradual evolution, transition, and development.
