Title: Wits, Words and War: The Story of Dr Johnson’s House
Speaker: Alex Brett

The talk will be an introduction to the world of Dr Johnson’s House and Samuel Johnson. Johnson was a remarkable man who, in spite of many personal struggles, became one of the most famous men of the 18^th-century. The most well-known of his works was, understandably, his Dictionary of the English Language (1755), which he completed in the garret of the House. He gathered a eclectic circle around him, including the illustrious members of ‘The Club’ such as David Garrick and Sir Joshua Reynolds, as well as those he invited to live with him such as Anna Williams and Francis Barber (his eventual heir). The House itself is a remarkable survivor from the 17^th-century, and has weathered 19^th-century neglect and 20th-century bombs to remain standing as the welcoming museum it is today.

Alex Brett is the House Manager at Dr Johnson’s House, a late-17th-century townhouse in Gough Square, just off Fleet Street. He holds a BA in History from the University of Warwick and has worked at a range of major London museums and historic sites, including the Design Museum, Buckingham Palace, the Charterhouse and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He later completed an MA in Museum Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands, inspired by his long-standing interest in Dutch art. His thesis, however, saw him return his focus to the UK capital, centring on the aristocratic townhouses of London, with particular attention to Apsley House and Spencer House. Alex’s work and research centre on the social and cultural history of London, especially historic houses and the people who inhabited, and passed through, them.