The Rest Is History

652. London’s Golden Age: The Ghosts of Culloden (Part 3)

March 16, 2026

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  • Samuel Johnson and James Boswell embarked on their 1773 journey to the Hebrides driven by a mutual, though perhaps romanticized, interest in the 'simplicity and wildness' of remote Scotland, contrasting with the English perception of the region as a 'heart of darkness'. 
  • Johnson and Boswell's early interactions in Edinburgh immediately highlighted their contrasting political views, particularly regarding the 1707 Act of Union and a shared, nostalgic sympathy for the deposed Catholic House of Stuart (Jacobitism), exemplified by Johnson's defense of Mary, Queen of Scots. 
  • The route chosen for their journey—heading east toward Inverness before turning west—was deliberately designed to trace the path of Bonnie Prince Charlie's 1745 campaign, suggesting a romantic, historical motivation beyond mere sightseeing. 
  • James Boswell deliberately omitted details of a confrontation between Samuel Johnson and his father, marking a rare exception to his usual practice of transcribing nearly all of Johnson's conversations during their tour. 
  • Both Samuel Johnson and James Boswell returned from their Scottish journey with the raw material necessary for future books, Johnson intending to write about the tour and Boswell planning his ultimate biography of Johnson. 
  • Boswell recognized a significant rival for Johnson's attention—a woman from Wales—who was more intimate with Johnson than he was, setting up the topic for the next installment of "652. London’s Golden Age: The Ghosts of Culloden (Part 3)". 

Segments

Johnson’s Scottish Journey Begins
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(00:01:41)
  • Key Takeaway: Samuel Johnson undertook his journey to the Hebrides in autumn 1773, motivated by a long-held desire and accompanied by James Boswell, whose ‘gaiety of conversation’ was sought to ease travel inconveniences.
  • Summary: Johnson’s account, ‘A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland,’ documents his first venture beyond England’s borders, which many Englishmen viewed as traveling to the ‘very ends of the earth.’ Boswell’s parallel account, ‘Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides,’ frames their goal as seeking ‘simplicity and wildness’ in remote areas. The journey commenced on August 18th, leaving Edinburgh.
Johnson’s Arrival in Edinburgh
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(00:04:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Johnson’s arrival in Edinburgh in August 1773 caused a sensation among polite circles, where he was known as ’the great cham’ of literary Britain.
  • Summary: Boswell documented Johnson’s imposing physical description, noting his ‘convulsive twitch’ and muttering habits, which made him unprepossessing initially. Johnson arrived prepared for rugged travel, carrying boots, a great coat with vast pockets, and pistols due to an ’erroneous apprehension of violence’ in the Highlands. Despite his public image as a ’little Englander,’ Johnson harbored a lifelong, frustrated yearning to see the world, including Italy and the Great Wall of China.
Union Debate and Jacobite Echoes
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(00:10:36)
  • Key Takeaway: A confrontation over the 1707 Act of Union in Edinburgh saw Johnson vehemently argue against Scottish independence by citing the Scots’ failure to rescue Mary, Queen of Scots.
  • Summary: Boswell intentionally provoked Johnson by expressing regret over the Union, leading Johnson to argue that the Scots forfeited their right to independence by failing to save their captive queen. When a keeper of the records claimed the elite were bribed, Johnson retorted, ‘Sir, that makes you worse.’ This political tension was intertwined with the lingering emotional resonance of the 1745 Jacobite rising led by Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Jacobite Sympathies and Tour Route
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(00:15:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Both Johnson and Boswell held a ’tenderness’ for the exiled House of Stuart, which likely influenced their decision to follow a roundabout route north that mirrored Bonnie Prince Charlie’s path to Culloden.
  • Summary: Johnson’s literary career paused during the 1745-1746 Jacobite period, leading some scholars to speculate he was involved or lying low due to his known Jacobite leanings, despite later accepting a pension from King George III. Boswell also maintained romantic Jacobite affections, even fantasizing about a Stuart kingdom on Corsica. Their route took them near Inverness and Loch Ness, following the historical escape route.
Travel Challenges and St Andrews
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(00:20:42)
  • Key Takeaway: The journey from Edinburgh involved difficult coach travel, prompting Johnson to momentarily despair over his age, and a stop at St Andrews, which Johnson found ‘gloomy’ and in decline following the Scottish Reformation.
  • Summary: The travelers departed Edinburgh on August 18th with a large Bohemian servant for protection, heading east to St Andrews, Scotland’s oldest university. Johnson lamented the city’s depopulation and the destruction wrought by the Reformation, contrasting the booming lowlands with the perceived emptiness of northern Scotland. A brief spat occurred when Boswell mocked Johnson’s worry about riding horses, calling him a ‘macaroni,’ which Johnson vehemently rejected.
Aberdeen and Highland Wilderness
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(00:23:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Johnson was honored with the freedom of the city in Aberdeen, and as they proceeded toward the Highlands, the landscape fulfilled Johnson’s desire to see ‘wild objects, mountains, waterfalls, peculiar manners.’
  • Summary: In Aberdeen, Johnson was lionized, and Boswell’s family name secured them lodging when the inn was full. Johnson’s enthusiasm for wild scenery was evident when he nearly fell while exploring the rocky Bullers of Buchan, alarming Boswell. Boswell became morbidly fearful crossing the heath near Inverness, where they saw a highwayman’s body in a gibbet, prompting his characteristic morbid curiosity.
Macbeth’s Castle and Highland Life
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(00:28:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Johnson and Boswell visited Macbeth’s Castle (Cawdor), where Boswell framed Johnson as a spectacle for literary effect, and later encountered a Gaelic-speaking woman living in extreme poverty near Loch Ness, which pleased Johnson as a view of ‘a state of human life.’
  • Summary: Boswell viewed Johnson’s presence in remote locations like Cawdor as a documentary opportunity, comparing him to St. Paul’s Church moving. Near Loch Ness, they visited a turf-roofed hovel where the elderly resident, speaking only Gaelic, expressed contentment despite her conditions, offering them hospitality. Johnson was struck by the contrast between the booming lowlands and the depopulated northern regions, noting the Highlanders were now ‘unarmed and defenceless.’
Disappointment at Clan Chief’s Seat
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(00:44:37)
  • Key Takeaway: The highly anticipated visit to Clan MacDonald of Sleat, hosted by Sir Alexander Macdonald, proved deeply disappointing due to poor hospitality, weak punch, and Lady Macdonald’s dullness, contrasting sharply with the romantic Highland expectations.
  • Summary: Boswell was excited because Sir Alexander wore illegal tartan and his wife appeared joyful, but the reality was grim: the dinner was poor, and Lady Macdonald was described by Johnson as ‘cut out of a cabbage.’ Johnson felt the chiefs had ‘degenerated from patriarchal rulers to rapacious landlords,’ migrating south while their clansmen emigrated to America. This visit highlighted Johnson’s melancholy observation that the romantic Scotland he sought was being lost to commercialization.
Rasa and Jacobite Encounters
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(00:54:17)
  • Key Takeaway: The subsequent visit to the Isle of Rassay was a triumph of traditional Highland life, and meeting Flora MacDonald, who saved Bonnie Prince Charlie, provided Johnson, a secret Jacobite sympathizer, with a profound emotional highlight.
  • Summary: Rassay offered the ‘patriarchal life’ Johnson sought, complete with dancing and music, contrasting with the Macdonald’s poor reception. Meeting Flora MacDonald, who disguised the Prince, allowed Johnson to sleep in Bonnie Prince Charlie’s former bed, fulfilling his Tory sympathies. The trip culminated emotionally at Iona, where Johnson stated that man’s patriotism or piety must grow stronger among its ruins.
Final Conflicts and Journal Material
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(00:57:21)
  • Key Takeaway: The tour concluded with two painful conflicts: Johnson retaliating against Boswell for laughing at his harem comment by calling him a eunuch, and a major political row between Johnson and Boswell’s Whig father, Lord Affleck, over the execution of Charles I.
  • Summary: Boswell recorded two incidents he wished to expunge: Johnson’s sharp retort after Boswell laughed at his comment about a harem, where Johnson called Boswell his eunuch, deeply wounding the masculine Boswell. Later, at Affleck, Johnson exploded at Lord Affleck for praising Oliver Cromwell’s execution of Charles I, a core Tory/Whig divide. Both men, however, diligently collected material, with Johnson planning a book and Boswell aiming for Johnson’s biography.
Boswell’s Omission of Conflict
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(01:01:57)
  • Key Takeaway: Boswell refused to detail the famous intellectual clash between Johnson and his father, citing it as unbecoming for public entertainment.
  • Summary: Boswell avoided detailing a famous confrontation involving Samuel Johnson and his father, claiming it would be inappropriate to expose them as “intellectual gladiators.” This reluctance contrasts sharply with Boswell’s usual habit of transcribing nearly every conversation he overheard during the tour. The hosts note that this specific head-to-head disagreement was the exception to Boswell’s comprehensive documentation.
Authorship Ambitions Revealed
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(01:02:41)
  • Key Takeaway: Both Johnson and Boswell secured the raw material for future books, with Boswell aiming for an unprecedented biography of Johnson.
  • Summary: Johnson decided during the trip that he would write a book about the tour, while Boswell’s ultimate goal, even before the journey, was to write Johnson’s biography after his death. Boswell actively goaded Johnson for details, seeking good copy for what he believed would be a biography unlike any written before. Both men successfully gathered the necessary material from their shared experiences.
Introduction of Rival Figure
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(01:03:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Boswell was aware of a rival for Johnson’s intimacy, specifically a woman from Wales, complicating his biographical plans.
  • Summary: While plotting his biography, Boswell recognized a rival who possessed greater familiarity and intimacy with Johnson than he ever had. This rival was identified not just as a woman, but specifically as a woman originating from Wales. This revelation serves as a cliffhanger, promising that the next episode of “652. London’s Golden Age: The Ghosts of Culloden (Part 3)” will focus on this Welsh woman.
Podcast Outro and Sponsorship
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(01:04:08)
  • Key Takeaway: The hosts promoted joining the Rest Is History Club for immediate access to bonus content and advertised Sweetgreen and Mint Mobile.
  • Summary: Listeners were encouraged to join the Rest Is History Club to access the current episode immediately. The segment concluded with advertisements for Sweetgreen’s new wraps and catering options, followed by a promotion for Mint Mobile’s $15 per month wireless plan featuring Ryan Reynolds.