Background
Murphy first met Johnson during the summer of 1754. Murphy was working on the Gray's-Inn Journal and, after discovering that a French article that they wanted to print was actually a translation of Johnson's Rambler No. 190, came to Johnson to apologize for his error. The two soon became friends, and Murphy began to tell the story many times later. Murphy was also friends with Henry Thrale and Hester Thrale, and spent time with all three.
After Johnson died and John Hawkins published his Life of Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy began to attack the work. He used a Monthly Review piece to criticize the legalistic language employed by Hawkins to claim "that he is now rendered an incompetent critic thereby, and in consequence thereof".
It was first published in 1792 as a prefix to a 12 volumes octavo edition that included Johnson's Works. This was done in a similar manner to Hawkins work which was prefixed to an eleven volume edition of Johnson's Works. Murphy, at the beginning of his essay, claims, "The proprietors of Johnson's Works thought life, which they prefixed to their former edition, too unwieldy for republication". Murphy was paid 300 pounds for the Essay.
Read more about this topic: An Essay On The Life And Genius Of Samuel Johnson
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