'I could observe People looking at me with envy, as a man of some distinction & a favourite of My Lady's. Bravo thought I. I am sure I deserve to be a favourite' Edinburgh-born James Boswell, at twenty-two, kept a daily diary of his eventful second stay in London. His journal, not discovered for more than 150 years, is a frank and artful record of adventures ranging from his vividly recounted affair with a Covent Garden actress, to his first amusingly bruising meeting with Samuel Johnson, to whom Boswell would later become both friend and biographer. This youthful portion of Boswell's journal is a witty, incisive and compellingly candid testament to his autobiographical talents. Gordon Turnbull's introduction examines the changing opinions of Boswell through the centuries, the afterlife of his private diaries, Boswell's family background and his struggle to make his own way within the pressures of social expectation. This edition also contains a chronology, appendices, and suggested further reading. With an introduction and notes by Gordon Turnbull