The Council of the Royal Society has taken the decision to cancel this lecture. We will resume our program as soon as possible and hope to re-schedule the lecture at a later date. Thank you for your understanding.
The Royal Society of Tasmania
invites you to a lecture by
Susannah Fullerton
“Dr Johnson and his Dictionary”
Sunday 5th April 2020, 3:00pm
Royal Society Rooms, Customs House Building, 21 Davey St, Hobart
(Enter via Dunn Place)
Admission is free for Royal Society of Tasmania members (membership forms available)
$6 general admission; $4 for students and Friends of TMAG
♦
The idea for a comprehensive dictionary of the English language first arose with the Royal Society in 1664 – a committee was formed and there was considerable enthusiasm for the project. However, finding the right person
proved difficult and the idea was shelved. It was not until 1746 that a group of London booksellers approached Samuel Johnson and asked him to begin work on a dictionary. Johnson thought he could complete the task in three years – it took him seven, working single-handedly! But the result was a masterpiece and it made Johnson’s name.
Susannah Fullerton tells the extraordinary story, in an illustrated talk, of how the great dictionary was written, its quirks and errors, its method, reception and influence. Get to know ‘Dictionary Johnson’ and his remarkable achievement.
Susannah Fullerton, OAM, FRSN, has been president of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, this country’s largest literary society, for the past 22 years. She is the author of several books on Jane Austen and gives many talks around the world about her favourite novelist.
Susannah also gives talks at libraries, schools, the Art Gallery of NSW and State Library of NSW on many other famous writers, such as Pepys, Oscar Wilde, the Brontës, Dickens, Trollope and many more. She has written Brief Encounters: Literary Travellers in Australia about famous authors visiting Australia, and has also written and recorded two audio CDs, Finding Katherine Mansfield and Poetry to Fill a Room. Susannah also leads literary tours to the UK, France, Italy, Scandinavia, NZ and America for Australians Studying Abroad.
