Great, loving essay on Samuel Johnson by Henry Oliver, thank you for the link.
Oliver is right, there isn't one special book that defines Johnson, each of his works somehow feels a little unremarkable in isolation. It's Johnson's tone, the reflective posture, that make him.
And Oliver callling Johnson the JS Bach of English prose is ingenious. Jup, Johnson is the Bach of English prose.
“The Life of Samuel Johnson was an instant sensation. While the works of Johnson were quickly forgotten, his biography has never been out of print”
—When the Worst Man in the World Writes a Masterpiece: James Boswell & the Nature of Genius
James Boswell (1740–1795) was born #OTD, 29 October – happy birthday, Bozzy!