Andrew Archibald Paton (19 March 1811, in Edinburgh – 5 April 1874) was a British diplomat,
orientalist, and author of travel books and novels.
Biography
From 1839 to 1843 he was employed in Egypt and then Syria. In 1843 he was appointed acting consul-general in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
. In 1858 he became vice-consul at
Missolonghi
Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...
in Greece. In 1859 he was transferred to
Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...
and in May 1862 appointed consul at
Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to:
Places Croatia
* the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa
* Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...
and at
Bocca di Cattaro.
His book ''Highlands and Islands of the Adriatic'' gives an interesting account of Signor
Arnieri, the principal land owner of the island of
Korčula
Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after K ...
. Paton's book ''Researches on the Danube and the Adriatic'' mentions the significance given by the people of Ragusa to the mathematician
Marino Ghetaldi
Marino Ghetaldi ( lat, Marinus Ghetaldus; hr, Marin Getaldić; 2 October 1568 – 11 April 1626) was a Ragusan scientist. A mathematician and physicist who studied in Italy, England and Belgium, his best results are mainly in physics, especially ...
. Paton's literary work is of interest for his book on the life and work of
Stendhal
Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' (''The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de P ...
and published correspondence with Sir
Austen Henry Layard
Sir Austen Henry Layard (; 5 March 18175 July 1894) was an English Assyriologist, traveller, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, politician and diplomat. He was born to a mostly English family in Paris and largely raised in It ...
.
Henry James
Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
wrote an unfavourable, unsigned review in ''
The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'' for Paton's book on Stendhal.
On 27 April 1852 Paton married Eliza Calvert at
Saint Anne Soho, Westminster, London; they had a daughter Eliza Rebecca Anne Paton.
Selected publications
* 1843-72
letters (20) to Sir Austen Layard* 184
The modern Syrians; or, Native Society in Damascus, Aleppo, and the mountains of the Druses, from notes made in those parts during the years 1841.2-3*1845
or, a residence in Belgrade and travels in the Highlands and Woodlands of the Interior, during the years 1843 and 1844.
*1849
Highlands and islands of the Adriatic : including Dalmatia, Croatia, and the southern provinces of the Austrian Empire* 1851
The Goth and the Hun, or, Transylvania, Debreczin, Pesth, and Vienna, in 1850* 1851
The mamelukes: a romance of life in grand Cairo .. (Volume 1)* 1851
The mamelukes: a romance of life in grand Cairo .. (Volume 2)* 1851
The mamelukes: a romance of life in grand Cairo .. (Volume 3)* 1855
The Bulgarian, the Turk, and the German* 1860
Melusina, a new Arabian night's entertainment* 1861
Researches on the Danube and the Adriatic : or, Contributions to the modern history of Hungary and Transylvania, Dalmatia and Croatia, Servia and Bulgaria
*1863
A history of the Egyptian revolution, from the period of the Mamelukes to the death of Mohammed Ali; from Arab and European memoirs, oral tradition, and local research* 1867
Sketches of the ugly side of human nature "> Sketches of the ugly side of human nature * 1870
A history of the Egyptian revolution, from the period of the Mamelukes to the death of Mohammed Ali; from Arab and European memoirs, oral tradition, and local research (Volume 1)* 1870
A history of the Egyptian revolution, from the period of the Mamelukes to the death of Mohammed Ali; from Arab and European memoirs, oral tradition, and local research (Volume 2)*1874
Henry Beyle (otherwise de Stendahl); a critical and biographical study aided by original documents and unpublished letters from the private papers of the family of Beyle
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, Andrew Archibald
1811 births
1874 deaths
British orientalists
British travel writers