DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE (PENGUIN CLASSICS) (PB)

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary, published in 1755, marked a milestone in a language in desperate need of some regulation. Johnson's was the dictionary used by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, Wordsworth and Coleridge, the Brontes and the Brownings, Thomas Hardy and Oscar Wilde. This edition, edited by David Crystal, contains selections from the original, offering memorable passages on subjects ranging from books and critics to dreams and ethics.