Sam Moore-Verity, Writer-in-Residence
This autumn we were pleased to welcome Sam Moore-Verity as Writer-in-Residence at Dr Johnson's House. Sam joins us on a placement from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. Her work has involved researching our library and collections to produce articles and poetry for our website, alongside gaining practical experience in heritage site management best practice.
Tetty Johnson
I am rather new to Samuel Johnson’s house, and I find myself overwhelmed by the lifetimes buried in the walls. The building speaks to me, with its bricks of words stuck fast by a mortar made of letters. The more I discover the more I find myself fixating on characters other than Johnson. A fascinating man, that cannot be denied, yet I find myself drawn more often to the quieter, lesser voices.
Women of the Household
I am attracted to the women of the household, Anna Williams, Hesther Thrale, Hannah More and most particularly, Elizabeth ‘Tetty’ Johnson. I write this, sitting on the first floor, wondering what her time in this house looked like.
When Samuel Johnson married Tetty, in 1735, their partnership was not celebrated, Tetty was in her forties and a widow. She had had three children by her first husband and on marrying Johnson, she lost contact with her two sons. Despite this, they continued their relationship, one Johnson called “a love match on both sides”. I concur, the two must have loved each other greatly. Even now, one may not find it appealing to marry someone twenty years younger, with little money and nowhere permanent to call home, yet, Tetty, devoted and supportive as she was, married Johnson and supported him in starting a school. Then, when that failed, aided him in his transition to London and, undertaking his largest work, the Dictionary.
Devotion
Although Tetty died in 1752, three years before Johnson’s Dictionary was published and he found true success, he remained devoted to her. He never remarried (despite claiming he might and pressure from friends) and remembered her in the years before her death. She is buried in Bromley Parish Church, and Johnson’s inscription ‘formosæ, cultæ, ingeniosæ, piæ,’ (beautiful, cultured, intelligent, pious) remains as a tribute to not only her devotion to him and their marriage but to her character.
The little that survives of her means we can only imagine how these character traits manifested. Mostly, I like to imagine a love between Tetty and Samuel that glowed with the warmth of hot coals at the bottom of a fireplace as they shared, time away from the stresses of their everyday life.
Sam Moore-Verity
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