There have always been people who have felt uneasy about Boswell's biographical writing, even while admiring its freshness and vivacity. Sometimes this unease centres on the image of Boswell erasing himself in order to present Johnson. Here, they say, is admiration taken to a dangerous extreme: if Boswell becomes Johnsonianissimus he is, in a plain and important sense, failing to be himself. Sometimes, however, the unease comes from the reverse side of this image. The complaint here is that Boswell does not erase himself sufficiently when writing about his friend and mentor. This objection is usually made by people who style themselves as Johnsonians, and we have already heard the tenor of their concern: the Life not only appropriates Johnson, transforming a favoured author into a mere character, but also misappropriates him. The Life, they say, is too partial and too skewed to be regarded as authoritative biography, and they suggest that we seek out a Johnson without Boswell. Usually the intention is to restore Johnson as an author so that we may appreciate his writing and be challenged by his ideas. On occasion, though, there is another intention: to replace the Life with a more comprehensive biography, one that does justice to the early years, corrects falsifications, and that offers perspectives on the later years that Boswell was unable or unwilling to give.