John Stuart Blackie
A Biography

An 1896 biography of John Stuart Blackie (1805–1895), the Scottish linguist, educator and literary critic.

Anna M. Stoddart (Author)

9781108011785, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 22 April 2010

500 pages, 1 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2.8 cm, 0.63 kg

John Stuart Blackie (1805–1895) trained in law and studied divinity in Scotland and Germany before becoming a professor of Classics. Confident, well-travelled, vivacious, and outspoken, he delivered numerous public lectures, was instrumental in the founding of the Gaelic Chair at Edinburgh University, and published translations of many German and Classical works, as well as an impressive body of literary criticism. He was active in Radical politics, a strong opponent of the 1867 Reform Bill, and well-known for his eccentric dress. Anna M. Stoddart's detailed biography of Blackie, published in 1896, provides captivating insights into this extraordinary man's life and times by drawing on letters and papers provided by Blackie's widow and colleagues soon after his death. It remains a useful source for scholars interested in Scottish education or the experience of Scots abroad, as well as those studying nineteenth-century literature and literary criticism.

Preface
1. Parentage and childhood, 1809–1819
2. At school and college, 1820–1829
3. Student life in Göttingen, 1829
4. Student life in Berlin, 1829–1830
5. Rome, 1830–1831
6. End of wanderjahre, 1831–1832
7. Years of struggle, 1832–1837
8. The Test Acts, 1837–1849
9. Installation and marriage, 1841–1842
10. Aberdeen and university reform, 1842–1850
11. Aeschylus and the Greek chair, 1850–1852
12. Edinburgh, 1852–1857
13. Lays, lectures, and lyrics, 1857–1860
14. Homer, 1861–1866
15. The highlands and islands, 1866–1870
16. Pilgrim years, 1870–1872
17. Self-culture, 1873–1874
18. The Celtic chair, 1875–1876
19. Egypt, 1876–1879
20. Retirement from the Greek chair, 1880–1882
21. Class-room and platform, 1841–1882
22. Recreations of an emeritus professor, 1882–1887
23. Living Greek, 1888–1891
24. Closing years, 1892–1895
Index.

Subject Areas: Language: history & general works [CBX]