One night, when James Boswell was socializing with Samuel Johnson, the eighteenth-century Englishman of letters and the subject of Boswell's biography that turned both men into literary legends, Johnson rose up in annoyance at the barrage of questions Boswell was aiming at him. Boswell and Johnson had a warm friendship, and, even though Johnson was flattered, knowing Boswell's intention of memorializing him for the ages, he couldn't contain his irritation.