George Edward Bateman Saintsbury,
FBA (23 October 1845 – 28 January 1933), was an English critic, literary historian, editor, teacher, and
wine connoisseur. He is regarded as a highly influential critic of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Biography
Born in Lottery Hall,
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, he was educated at
King's College School
King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...
, London, and at
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...
, where he achieved a first class BA degree in
Classical Mods
Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores'').
Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ' ...
, (1865), and a second class in ''literae humaniores'' (1867).
He left Oxford in 1868 having failed to obtain a fellowship, and briefly became a master at the
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...
, before spending six years in
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
as senior classical master of
Elizabeth College, where he began his literary career by submitting his first reviews to ''
The Academy''. From 1874 until he returned to London in 1876 he was headmaster of the
Elgin Educational Institute
Elgin may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Elgin County, Ontario
* Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Chatham-Kent, Ontario
* Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario
* ...
, with a brief period in 1877 on ''
The Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. From the early 1880s until 1894 he worked as a writer and subeditor for the ''
Saturday Review''. Some of the critical essays contributed to the literary journals were afterwards collected in his ''Essays in English Literature'', ''Essays on French Novelists'' (1891), ''Miscellaneous Essays'' (1892),, and ''Corrected Impressions'' (1895).
![George Saintsbury in The Bookman - March 1895](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/George_Saintsbury_in_The_Bookman_-_March_1895.jpg)
In 1895, Saintsbury became professor of
rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
and English literature at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, a position he held until 1915. During his time in Edinburgh, he was a member of the Scottish Arts Club.
In his retirement, he continued to write, while living at 1A
Royal Crescent
The Royal Crescent is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping Crescent (architecture), crescent in the city of Bath, Somerset, Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood, the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is a ...
,
Bath, Somerset
Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...
.
He died in 1933 at the age of 87 at
Royal Crescent
The Royal Crescent is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping Crescent (architecture), crescent in the city of Bath, Somerset, Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood, the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is a ...
in
Bath, Somerset
Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...
.
Literary criticism
His first book, ''A Primer of French Literature'' (1880), and his ''Short History of French Literature'' (1882), were followed by a series of editions of French classics and of books and articles on the history of
French literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...
, which made him the most prominent English authority on the subject. His studies in English literature were no less comprehensive, and included the valuable revision of Sir
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
's edition of
John Dryden
''
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...
's ''Works'' (Edinburgh, 18 vols., 1882–1893), Dryden (1881) in the "
English Men of Letters English Men of Letters was a series of literary biographies written by leading literary figures of the day and published by Macmillan, under the general editorship of John Morley. The original series was launched in 1878, with Leslie Stephen's bio ...
" series, ''History of Elizabethan Literature'' (1887), ''History of Nineteenth Century Literature'' (1896), ''A Short History of English Literature'' (1898, 3rd ed. 1903 – and a book that continued to be reprinted at least into the 1960s), an edition of the ''Minor Poets of the Caroline Period'' (1905, 1906, 1921), a collection of rare poems of great value, and editions of English classics. He coined the term "
Janeite
The term Janeite has been both embraced by devotees of the works of Jane Austen and used as a term of opprobrium. According to Austen scholar Claudia Johnson ''Janeitism'' is "the self-consciously idolatrous enthusiasm for 'Jane' and every detail ...
" for a fan of
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
in his introduction to an 1894 edition of ''
Pride and Prejudice
''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...
''.
He wrote numerous articles on literary subjects (including
Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine.
As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...
,
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
,
Clément Marot
Clément Marot (23 November 1496 – 12 September 1544) was a French Renaissance poet.
Biography
Youth
Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496–1497. His father, Jean Marot (c.&n ...
,
Michel de Montaigne
Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a liter ...
,
Jean Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...
,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
and
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
) for the ninth edition (1875–89) of the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
''.
In 1901 Saintsbury edited and
introduced an English edition of
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...
's novel series ''
La Comédie humaine
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
'', translated by
Ellen Marriage
Ellen Marriage (26 August 1865 – 23 December 1946) was an English translator from French, notably of Honoré de Balzac, Balzac's novels. She put an effort into ensuring readability and accuracy that was unusual in translators of her period.
Li ...
and published in 1895–98 by
J. M. Dent
Joseph Malaby Dent (30 August 1849 – 9 May 1926) was a British book publisher who produced the Everyman's Library series.
Early life
Dent was born in Darlington in what is now part of the Grade II listed Britannia Inn. After a short and ...
.
For the publisher
William Blackwood and Sons
William Blackwood and Sons was a Scottish publishing house and printer founded by William Blackwood in 1804. It played a key role in literary history, publishing many important authors, for example John Buchan, George Tomkyns Chesney, Joseph Con ...
, he edited the series of ''Periods of European Literature'', contributing volumes on ''The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Allegory'' (1897) and ''The Earlier Renaissance'' (1901).
Saintsbury subsequently produced some of his most important works: ''A History of Criticism'' (3 vols., 1900–1904), with the companion volume ''Loci Critici: Passages Illustrative of Critical Theory and Practice'' (Boston, Mass., and London, 1903), and ''A History of English Prosody from the 12th Century to the Present Day'' (i., 1906; ii., 1908; iii., 1910); also ''The Later Nineteenth Century'' (1909).
In 1925 he arranged for the publication of a lost recipe book by
Anne Blencoe
Anne Blencowe or Anne, Lady Blencowe, née Anne Wallis (4 June 1656 – 6 April 1718) was a British compiler of recipes. Her book was first published more than 200 years after her death.
Life
Anne Wallis was born to Susanna Glyde and her husband P ...
, which had been rediscovered in
Weston Hall
Weston Hall is a 17th-century manor house in Weston, Northamptonshire. The house was owned by the Sitwell family's ancestors from 1714 to 2021. It is a Grade II* listed building.
History
The manor house dates to the 17th century, and is believ ...
200 years after her death. Saintsbury wrote a short introduction to the reissued book.
Wine
Although Saintsbury was best known during his lifetime as a scholar, he is also remembered today for his ''Notes on a Cellar-Book'' (1920), one of the great testimonials to drink and drinking in wine literature. When he was close to death,
André Simon arranged a dinner in his honour. Although Saintsbury did not attend, this was the start of the
Saintsbury Club, men of letters and members of the wine trade who continue to have dinners to this day.
Political views
Saintsbury espoused deeply conservative views in political and social matters.
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
calls him a 'confessed reactionary'
in his 1937 book ''
The Road to Wigan Pier
''The Road to Wigan Pier'' is a book by the English writer George Orwell, first published in 1937. The first half of this work documents his sociological investigations of the bleak living conditions among the working class in Lancashire and Yor ...
'' and cites various extracts from the
Scrapbooks which display Saintsbury's class-based disdain for the welfare state and paupers.
Legacy
T.S. Eliot dedicated the publication of his book ''Homage to John Dryden: Three Essays on the Poetry of the 17th Century'' (1924) to Saintsbury.
1A Royal Crescent, where Saintsbury lived from 1915 until his death in 1933, was the subject of a restoration and renovation programme by the
Bath Preservation Trust
The Bath Preservation Trust is a charity that is based in Bath, Somerset, England, which exists to safeguard for the public benefit the historic character and amenities of the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its environs. The trust is i ...
during 2012 to reincorporate it into 1 Royal Crescent, of which it was the original servants' quarters. It opened to visitors for the first time in 2013. An exhibition celebrating Saintsbury's life was mounted in the house in 2014.
A biography of Saintsbury, written by Dorothy Richardson Jones and giving extensive commentary on his works, was published in 1992.
Bibliography
''Primer of French Literature'' (1880)'
*''
French Lyrics'' (1st ed., 1882)
''A Short History of French Literature'' (1882)5th Ed., "With the Section on the 19th Cent. Greatly Enlarged" (1897)*''
Specimens of English Prose Style from Malory to Macaulay'' (1885) (
alternative copy)
''A History of Elizabethan Literature''(1887) (alternative:
Copy I and
Copy IIProject Gutenberg
*As Translator and Editor: ''
Essays on English Literature'' (1889) by Edmond Scherer. ''
Chronicle of the Reign of Charles IX'' (1890) by Prosper Mérimée. ''
Les Chouans
''Les Chouans'' (, ''The Chouans'') is an 1829 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) and included in the ''Scènes de la vie militaire'' section of his novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine''. Set in the French ...
'' (1891) by Balzac.
Corinne' (1894, 2 vols.) by Madame de Stael. ''
Moral Tales'' (1895) by Marmontel.
*As Series Editor for The Pocket Library of English Literature:
Tales of Mystery: Mrs. Radcliffe, Lewis, Maturin' (1891).
Political Verse' (1891).
Selections from Defoe’s Minor Novels' (1892).
Political Pamphlets' (1892).
Seventeenth Century Lyrics' (1893).
Elizabethan and Jacobean Pamphlets' (1892).
*
''Miscellaneous Essays'' (1895)
*As Series Editor: The 12 volumes of ''Periods of European Literature'', Blackwood & Sons (1890s-1900s)
**As author: ''
The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Allegory'' (Vol. 2 of ''Periods of European Literature'' series, 1897)
**As author: ''
The Earlier Renaissance'' (Vol. 5 of ''Periods of European Literature'' series, 1901)
**As author: ''
The Later Nineteenth Century'' (Vol. 12 of ''Periods of European Literature'' series, 1907)
*
''A Short History of English Literature'' (1898) (
alternative copy)
*''A History of Criticism and Literary Taste in Europe from the Earliest Texts to the Present Day'' (1900–04).
Vol. I: Classical and Mediæval Criticism.
Vol. II: From the Renaissance to the Decline of Eighteenth Century Orthodoxy.
Vol. III: Modern Criticism.
*''
Loci Critici: Passages Illustrative of Critical Theory and Practice from Aristotle Downwards'' (1903)
*''A History of English Prosody from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day'' (1906–10).
Vol. I: From the Origins to Spenser.
Vol. II: From Shakespeare to Crabbe.
Vol. III: From Blake to Mr. Swinburne. (alternatives:
Vol. I;
Vol. II, Vol. III)
''Historical Manual of English Prosody'' (1910) (alternatives:
Copy I;
Copy II;
Copy IIIProject Gutenberg
*
''History of English Prose Rhythm'' (1912), containing an essay entitled, 'Authorised Version and the Triumph of the Ornate Style.'
*
The English Novel' (1913) (
alternative copy)
*''
A First Book of English Literature'' (1914)
*
''The Peace of The Augustans; A Survey of Eighteenth Century Literature as a Place of Rest and Refreshment'' (1916)
*''A History of the French Novel to the Close of the Nineteenth Century'' (1917-19).
Vol. I: From the Beginning to 1800.
Vol. II: From 1800 to 1900.
*''
Notes on a Cellar-Book'' (1920)
*
A Scrap Book' (1922),
A Second Scrap Book' (1923),
A Last Scrap Book' (1924)
*''Minor Poets of the Caroline Period'' (1921).
Vol. I;
Vol. II;
Vol. III;
Vol. III
*''Collected Essays and Papers, 1875-1920'' (1924).
Volume 1: Essays in English Literature.
Volume 2: Essays in English Literature.
Volume 3: Miscellaneous EssaysVolume 4: Essays in French Literature
*''
A Consideration of Thackeray'' (1931)
*
''Prefaces and Essays'' (1933)
*
The Memorial Volume' (1945)
*
A Last Vintage: Essays and Papers', ed. John W. Oliver, et al. (1950)
*
"English Versification". Introduction to ''The Rhymers' Lexicon'', by Andrew Loring. (2nd ed., revised, 1920).
*
References
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
''A Short History of English Literature'' (1898) (alternative:
another copy) at
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
* ''A History of English Prosody from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day:''
Vol. I;
Vol. II;
Vol. III at
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
*
History of English Prose Rhythm (alternatives:
Copy II,
Copy III) at
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintsbury, George
1845 births
1933 deaths
People educated at King's College School, London
English Anglo-Catholics
English literary critics
English editors
Wine critics
Writers from Southampton
Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
Fellows of the British Academy