Although the picture that we have of James Boswell has been constantly changing in recent years, many students retain the impression that the great biographer was something of a fool or a buffoon who hovered at the coattails of the great, taking down their conversations, noting their gestures and effacing himself in the presence of his superiors- This is a distorted impression which has been fostered by Lord Macaulay's essay in the Encyclopedia Britannica which painted Boswell in just such a light. The truth is that Boswell, although delighting in the company of the great, also envisioned fame for himself.
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