Changes

On 3 May 1777, while Johnson was trying to save Reverend William Dodd from execution, he wrote to Boswell that he was busy preparing a "little Lives" and "little Prefaces, to a little edition of the English Poets".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=525}}</ref> Tom Davies, William Strahan and Thomas Cadell had asked Johnson to create this final major work, the '' Lives of the English Poets '', for which he asked 200 guineas, an amount significantly less than the price he could have demanded.<ref name="Bate p. 526">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=526}}</ref> The ''Lives'', which were critical as well as biographical studies, appeared as prefaces to selections of each poet's work, and they were quite larger than originally expected.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=527}}</ref> The work was finished in March 1781 and the whole collection was published in six volumes. As Johnson justified in the advertisement for the work, "my purpose was only to have allotted to every Poet an Advertisement, like those which we find in the French Miscellanies, containing a few dates and a general character."<ref>{{Harvnb|Clingham|1997|p=161}}</ref>

On 3 May 1777, while Johnson was trying to save Reverend William Dodd from execution, he wrote to Boswell that he was busy preparing a "little Lives" and "little Prefaces, to a little edition of the English Poets".<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=525}}</ref> Tom Davies, William Strahan and Thomas Cadell had asked Johnson to create this final major work, the '' Lives of the English Poets '', for which he asked 200 guineas, an amount significantly less than the price he could have demanded.<ref name="Bate p. 526">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=526}}</ref> The ''Lives'', which were critical as well as biographical studies, appeared as prefaces to selections of each poet's work, and they were quite larger than originally expected.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=527}}</ref> The work was finished in March 1781 and the whole collection was published in six volumes. As Johnson justified in the advertisement for the work, "my purpose was only to have allotted to every Poet an Advertisement, like those which we find in the French Miscellanies, containing a few dates and a general character."<ref>{{Harvnb|Clingham|1997|p=161}}</ref>

Johnson was unable to enjoy this success because Henry Thrale, the dear friend with whom he lived, died on 4 April 1781.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|pp=546–547}}</ref> Life changed quickly for Johnson, and Hester Thrale became interested in the Italian singing teacher Gabriel Mario Piozzi, which forced Johnson to move on from his previous lifestyle.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|pp=557,&nbsp;561}}</ref> After returning home and then travelling for a short period, Johnson received word that his friend and tenant Robert Levet, had died on 17 January 1782.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=562}}</ref> Johnson was shocked by the death of Levet, who had resided at Johnson's London home since 1762.<ref>{{citation|url=http://books.google.com/?id=qXHv5EClgZgC&pg=PA231&lpg=PA231&dq=wakefield+levett|title= The Samuel Johnson Encyclopedia|author=Rogers, Pat|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location= Westport, CT|year=1996|isbn=978-0-313-29411-2}}</ref> Shortly afterwards Johnson caught a cold which turned into bronchitis, lasting for several months, and his health was further complicated by "feeling forlorn and lonely" by Levet's death being accompanied by the deaths of Johnson's friend Thomas Lawrence and his housekeeper Williams.<ref>{{Harvnb|Martin|2008|pp=501–502}}</ref>  

Johnson was unable to enjoy this success because Henry Thrale, the dear friend with whom he lived, died on 4 April 1781.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|pp=546–547}}</ref> Life changed quickly for Johnson, and Hester Thrale became interested in the Italian singing teacher Gabriel Mario Piozzi, which forced Johnson to move on from his previous lifestyle.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|pp=557,&nbsp;561}}</ref> After returning home and then travelling for a short period, Johnson received word that his friend and tenant Robert Levet, had died on 17 January 1782.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=562}}</ref> Johnson was shocked by the death of Levet, who had resided at Johnson's London home since 1762.<ref>{{citation1|url=http://books.google.com/?id=qXHv5EClgZgC&pg=PA231&lpg=PA231&dq=wakefield+levett|title= The Samuel Johnson Encyclopedia|author=Rogers, Pat|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location= Westport, CT|year=1996|isbn=978-0-313-29411-2}}</ref> Shortly afterwards Johnson caught a cold which turned into bronchitis, lasting for several months, and his health was further complicated by "feeling forlorn and lonely" by Levet's death being accompanied by the deaths of Johnson's friend Thomas Lawrence and his housekeeper Williams.<ref>{{Harvnb|Martin|2008|pp=501–502}}</ref>  

===Final years===

===Final years===