Queeney was Hester Thrale's eldest daughter, and Hester Thrale's
house was where Samuel Johnson found a home-from-home for many
years. Considering the motley bunch of sad cases to whom he gave
shelter in his own house, and the comfort of the Thrale
establishment, it was little wonder. Bainbridge is scrupulous in
her depiction of the details of contemporary life, and of Johnson's
own life. Johnson was a complex man. He had married a widow twenty
years older than he was, with a fine bosom and a bank balance.
After her death, which he managed not to attend, he always said he
had loved her desperately. So how did Mrs Thrale feature in his
sexual life? When we read of a padlock and chain which he entrusted
to her, and a letter from her telling him not to quarrel with his
governess for not using the rod enough, our sophisticated
21st-century minds leap to an obvious conclusion. But are we right?
Johnson had 'insane imaginings' about fetters and manacles', but
they may have been part of his fear of madness, rather than a
sexual ambition. We don't know: and with great skill, the author
leaves us to wonder. Bainbridge's achievement lies in the bringing
to life the most incredible characters of their worlds. The
highlights she adds to her crowded canvas are masterly, and the
device of framing her narrative in a series of letters written long
after the events they concern succeeds brilliantly. (Kirkus UK)
According to Queeney is a masterly evocation of the last years of Dr Johnson, arguably Britain's greatest Man of Letters. The time is the 1770s and 1780s and Johnson, having completed his life's major work (he compiled the first ever Dictionary of the English Language) is running an increasingly chaotic life. Torn between his strict morality and his undeclared passion for Mrs Thrale, the wife of an old friend, According to Queeney reveals one of Britain's most wonderful characters in all his wit and glory. Above all, though, this is a story of love and friendship and brilliantly narrated by Queeney, Mrs Thrale's daughter, looking back over her life.
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