(Elizabeth) Mary Wilkinson FBA (1909–2001) was an English scholar of German literature and culture. She was said to be a role model for working class women with her Yorkshire accent, bold presence and scholarly knowledge.

Life

Wilkinson was born in

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, on 17 September 1909, and educated at Whalley Range High School in Manchester. She began studying German in 1929 at

Bedford College, London file:Bedford College in York place - photographer is unknown but guess 1908.png, Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in th ...

where she was inspired by Professor J. G. Robertson to study German. (although she also creditted

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

's study of

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

). She gained a first at Bedford in 1932 and she took a Diploma in Education at Oxford in 1933. After teaching at schools in Clapham and Southampton, she became a research student under Edna Purdie. In 1943 she obtained a doctorate from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, with a thesis on

Johann Elias Schlegel Johann Elias Schlegel (January 17, 1719 – August 13, 1749) was a German critic and dramatic poet. Life Schlegel was born in Meissen. He was educated at Schulpforta and at the University of Leipzig, where he studied law. In 1743 he became p ...

. Wilkinson briefly worked as an ambulance driver during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and taught German at the relocated

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

department in Aberystwyth. She collaborated closely with L. A. Willoughby throughout the 1940s and 1950s. She delivered the

Taylorian Lecture The Taylorian Lecture, sometimes referred to as the "Special Taylorian Lecture" or "Taylorian Special Lecture", is a prestigious annual lecture on Modern European Literature, delivered at the Taylor Institution in the University of Oxford since 18 ...

in Oxford in 1959. In 1961 she was appointed Professor of German at University College London, delivering her inaugural lecture on 25 October 1962.''In Praise of Aesthetics'' (London, 1963) She was said to be a role model for working class women with her Yorkshire accent, bold presence and scholarly knowledge. She was elected to the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

in 1972. She retired in 1976, and a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

was published in her honour in 1978, under the title ''Tradition and Creation''. She lived in Camden and had Alzheimer's disease for seven years before she died on 2 January 2001.

Publications

* Schiller, ''Kabale und Liebe'', edited by Elizabeth M. Wilkinson and L. A. Willoughby (1944) * ''Johann Elias Schlegel: A German Pioneer in Aesthetics'' (1945) * ''Goethe's Conception of Form'' (1951) * ''Goethe: Poet and Thinker'' (1962) * ''Goethe Revisited: A Collection of Essays'', edited by Elizabeth Mary Wilkinson (1984)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Elizabeth Mary 1909 births 2001 deaths People from Keighley Alumni of Bedford College, London Academics of University College London Fellows of the British Academy