Robert Cadell (16 December 1788 – 20 January 1849) was a

bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librari ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

closely associated with

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' ...

Life

He was born at

Cockenzie Cockenzie and Port Seton ( sco, Cockennie ; gd, Cùil Choinnich, meaning "cove of Kenneth") is a unified town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is on the coast of the Firth of Forth, four miles east of Musselburgh. The burgh of Cockenzie was created ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, the fifth son of John Cadell, a

Laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

of Cockenzie, and Marie Buchan, his wife. Cadell's career began as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

Archibald Constable Archibald David Constable (24 February 1774 – 21 July 1827) was a Scottish publisher, bookseller and stationer. Life Constable was born at Carnbee, Fife, son of the land steward to the Earl of Kellie. In 1788 Archibald was apprenticed to Pe ...

& Co.,

's publisher, where he later (1809) became a partner in the business. The connection to Constable was also personal: Cadell married his daughter Elizabeth in October 1817. She died less than nine months later. Cadell married again (to Anne Fletcher Mylne) in 1821, adding to the friction which had developed between Constable and Cadell since the death of Elizabeth. The two men were very different characters: Cadell was cautious and lived plainly, while Constable's lifestyle was lavish and he took risks in business. When Constable's London agents Hurst Robinson went

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...

and Archibald Constable & Co. itself fell into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

in January 1826 through the effects of Scott's own bankruptcy, the partnership between Cadell and Constable dissolved. Scott chose to remain with Cadell, respecting Cadell's prudence in business affairs. Scott and Cadell purchased the

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

to Scott's novels and produced a new edition of the

Waverley novels The Waverley Novels are a long series of novels by Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). For nearly a century, they were among the most popular and widely read novels in Europe. Because Scott did not publicly acknowledge authorship until 1827, the se ...

including new material penned by Scott. The work to create this ‘author's edition’ commenced in 1827 and was highly successful, in part perhaps because of the illustrations executed for it by J. M. W. Turner. Cadell took care of Scott in the writer's last years, profiting handsomely from arrangements made with Scott's family after his death such that they were absolved from debt in return for Cadell's exclusive right to republish Scott's novels and biographical material. On Scott's death, Cadell paid £30,000 for Scott's share of the copyright on Scott's work, thereafter owning it outright. Cadell's wealth enabled him to acquire considerable land and personal property, including

Ratho Ratho ( gd, Ràthach) is a village in the Rural West Edinburgh area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Ratho Stati ...

House, in

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

. Cadell died at Ratho on 20 January 1849 and is buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

in central

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

.Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Grampian Society, 1871 The grave stands at the head of one of the western lines in the western extension.

Family

He first married Elizabeth Constable, daughter of his employer

. She died in 1818. He was then married to Anne Fletcher Mylne (1796–1867). They had a son John in 1826 who only lived for 6 weeks. Their daughter Emily (1821–1832) also died young. His daughter Frances married Rev

Robert Horne Stevenson Robert Horne Stevenson (27 October 1812 – 15 November 1886) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1871/2. Life Stevenson was born on 27 October 1812 at Netherinch, Campsie, son o ...

References

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'Litera scripta manet': George Huntly Gordon and the Abbotsford Library Catalogue (Oxford Journals)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cadell, Robert 1788 births 1849 deaths Scottish book publishers (people) Scottish booksellers People from Cockenzie and Port Seton Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard 19th-century British businesspeople