A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and the Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides

Samuel Johnson's Journey was published in 1775, following a three-month trip to Scotland he took with James Boswell in 1773. It offers Johnson's vivid descriptions of the customs, religion, education, trade, and agriculture of a society that was entirely new to him—a fascinating glimpse of Scottish life through the eyes of one of England's greatest literary figures.

Boswell's own account, published after Johnson's death as The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (1785), provides an intimate personal record drawn from his diaries. Together, these two works offer complementary perspectives on the same remarkable journey: Johnson's measured observations alongside Boswell's lively documentation of his companion's behavior and conversation during their travels.