The Rest Is History 651. London’s Golden Age: Sex and Scandal in Georgian Britain (Part 2)
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Mar 12, 2026 Scandalous London life in the 18th century, with clubs, fashion, and rampant libertinism. The wild sexual adventures and debts of James Boswell and his appetite for celebrity. The famous first meeting and evolving friendship with Samuel Johnson. Boswell’s European travels, meetings with Rousseau, Voltaire, and Pasquale Paoli, and his zeal for Corsican liberty.
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The Louisa Affair Reveals Boswell's Self Exposure
- Boswell's affair with an actress he calls Louisa shows his vivid, unflinching self-recording and moral vacillation.
- He courts her, lends two guineas, consummates the relationship, contracts gonorrhea, demands his money back, then feels ashamed.
Johnson's Mix Of Scorn And Kindness Hooked Boswell
- Boswell wooed Samuel Johnson by persistent visits and was thrilled when Johnson offered to escort him to Harwich for his departure.
- Johnson's mix of scorn and kindness—public banter, moral counsel, and companionable conversation—enchanted Boswell.
Utrecht Study Drove Boswell Into Melancholy
- In Utrecht Boswell found law study dreary and struggled with loneliness and religious doubt, trying to emulate Johnson's seriousness.
- He wrote an 'inviolable plan' to reform himself, but the boredom intensified his melancholy.