In 1764, the great Samuel Johnson, irascible genius, unparalleled wit and the toast of all society, is plagued by ill health and has become jaded by his bickering descendants. Suffering from a bout of melancholy, he accepts an invitation to the table of Henry Thrale, a wealthy Southwark brewer, and his vivacious wife Hester. Thus begins an extraordinary relationship that is to last 20 years. Against the brilliant background of Georgian London, According to Queeney candidly and comically tells a story of unrequited love, passion, rejection and possession, revealing the sexual tensions that lie beneath the ordered surface of everyday life.