Jenni Calder ( née Daiches) (born 1941) is a Scottish literary historian, and arts establishment figure. Edinburgh based, she has been part of the Scottish literary community for many years. Her teaching and writing cover Scottish, English and American literary and historical subjects. She has written 28 books on literary and historical subjects, including biographies of

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 ...

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

, George Orwell and Naomi Mitchison and books on Scottish history and Scottish emigration. She has a particular research interest in emigration and the Scottish diaspora. She worked at the National Museums of Scotland from 1978 to 2001 and latterly as Head of Museum of Scotland International. In 2003 she helped to organise the

National Museums of Scotland National Museums Scotland (NMS; gd, Taighean-tasgaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It runs the national museums of Scotland. NMS is one of the country's National Collections ...

's exhibition called 'Trailblazers - the Scots in Canada'. She was president of Scottish PEN, a not-for-profit organisation that champions freedom of expression and literature across borders. She writes fiction and poetry as Jenni Daiches. She was formerly married to

Angus Calder Angus Lindsay Ritchie Calder (5 February 1942 – 5 June 2008) was a Scottish writer, historian, and poet. Initially studying English literature, he became increasingly interested in political history and wrote a landmark study on Britain during t ...

, and is the daughter of

David Daiches David Daiches (2 September 1912 – 15 July 2005) was a Scottish literary historian and literary critic, scholar and writer. He wrote extensively on English literature, Scottish literature and Scottish culture. Early life He was born in Sunder ...

a prominent Scottish, Jewish, writer, critic and historian. She was born in the US and spent time in Kenya. Her book ''Not Nebuchadnezzar'' is a partly a biography and a '''chronicle of the consuming search for that elusive concept known as 'identity''''. She has spoken out about anti-antisemitism On the question of Scottish independence; of 27 Scottish authors whose opinion was sought, Calder was one of only two offering a definite No."Of the 27, I counted 15 who would give a definite Yes to independence. Only two of the others – Jenni Calder and myself – give a definite No."
Never knowingly understated
.

Ken MacLeod Kenneth Macrae MacLeod (born 2 August 1954) is a Scottish science fiction writer. His novels ''The Sky Road'' and ''The Night Sessions'' won the BSFA Award. MacLeod's novels have been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo, Nebula, Locus, an ...

, ''The Early Days of A Better Nation''. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2014. Jennicalder

Some works

* *''There Must Be a Lone Ranger: The myth and reality of the American Wild West''. Hamish Hamilton, 1974 *''Huxley Brave New World and Orwell Nineteen Eighty Four''. Edward Arnold, 1976 * * * * *''Stevenson and Victorian Scotland''. Edinburgh University Press, 1984 *''Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four''. Open University, 1988 *''The Wealth of a Nation''. Publications Office, Edinburgh, 1989 *''Scotland in Trust: The National Trust for Scotland'', 1990 * * * * * * * * *''The Story of the Scottish Soldier, 1600-1914''. National Museums of Scotland, 1992 *''Enterprising Scot: Scottish Adventure and Achievement''. National Museums of Scotland, 1995 * *''Scots in the USA''. Luath Press, 2006 *

Reviews

* Clunas, Alexander (1982), review of ''Stevenson and Victorian Scotland'', in Murray, Glen (ed.), ''

Cencrastus ''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...

'' No. 8, Spring 1982, pp. 42 & 42,

References

Living people 1941 births Alumni of New Hall, Cambridge

Jenni Jenni is a feminine given name, sometimes a modern diminutive or short form of Jennifer. The etymology is actually that of a diminutive of Jane, however. A separate name, with the same spelling, serves as a Finnish language diminutive of Joha ...

Jewish historians Scottish literary historians Scottish Jewish writers Scottish Jews British women historians 20th-century Scottish historians 21st-century Scottish historians 21st-century Scottish women writers 20th-century Scottish women writers Women literary historians {{Scotland-writer-stub Scottish poets