Old House, New Views

For such a prominent figure as Johnson, it is no surprise that interest in his life—and home—should be long-standing, and that two of his former residences have been turned into museums. A question central to the work of the Curator of 17 Gough Square, the person responsible for presenting his London home to the public, is ensuring that visitors feel satisfied by their experience and go away with an appetite to learn—and read—more by and about him. This chapter explores what it means to enter the hallowed spaces of the House, and the challenges of conveying the significance of its age and emptiness when few original (and therefore authentic) objects of his have survived. There is a question of authenticity, and whether this can best be found in a writer’s house when viewed as a physical, tangible form of biography. Johnson tells us biography requires an act of imagination, and while the House survives, Johnson has not. If he (and his work) are in a sense made present by 17 Gough Square, his absence is the more keenly felt. This chapter examines how an act of imagination extends to the experience of visitors to Dr. Johnson’s House.