An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List
The Vanity of Human Wishes
Author: Samuel Johnson
Referenced in 2 episodes
Buy from Amazon #CommissionsEarnedEpisodes Referencing This Book
May 28, 2025
Context:
Referenced as Dr. Johnson's 1748 work that updated Juvenal's Latin satire into English, substituting Charles XII for Hannibal as the example of a great general brought low.
May 11, 2025
Context:
The podcast opens with a reading from this 1749 poem, which discusses Swedish King Charles XII as a romantic hero figure