‘This is one of the best volumes of the excellent “Famous Scots Series,” and one of the fairest and most discriminating biographies of Boswell that have ever appeared.’
The Dundee Advertiser says:—
‘It is the admirable manner in which the very complexity of the man is indicated that makes W. Keith Leask’s biography of him one of peculiar merit and interest.... It is not only a life of Boswell, but a picture of his time—vivid, faithful, impressive.’
The Morning Leader says:—
‘Mr. W. K. Leask has approached the biographer of Johnson in the only possible way by which a really interesting book could have been arrived at—by way of the open mind.... The defence of Boswell in the concluding chapter of his delightful study is one of the finest and most convincing passages that have recently appeared in the field of British biography.’
Of TOBIAS SMOLLETT, by Oliphant Smeaton,
The Dundee Courier says:—
‘It is impossible to read the pages of this little work without being struck not only by its historical value, but by the fairness of its criticism.’
The Weekly Scotsman says:—
‘The book is written in a crisp and lively style.... The picture of the great novelist is complete and lifelike. Not only does Mr. Smeaton give a scholarly sketch and estimate of Smollett’s literary career, he constantly keeps the reader in conscious touch and sympathy with his personality, and produces a portrait of the man as a man which is not likely to be readily forgotten.’