In l765 Samuel Johnson, aged 56, ill, lonely, living off Fleet Street among quarrelling dependants, was introduced to a wealthy brewer, Henry Thrale, and his witty and talented young Welsh-born wife Hester. Their friendship would last l8 years.

For Johnson it provided comforting hospitality, feminine companionship and an enjoyment of famiy life. To Hester it brought great stimulus, as she found herself the recipient of Johnson's views on life, literature and the arts. She responded with plenty of her own.

When Thrale died and Hester married an Italian musician, Gabriel Piozzi, Johnson never forgave her. "When I meet with one of her letters I burn it"