John Wilson

David Higgins (University of Leeds)

Ed. by J. Derrick McClure, University of Aberdeen
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University), Emily Rohrbach (University of Durham)

Dates

Born 18 May 1785
Died 3 Apr 1854
Activity 1805-1854

Places

Born in Scotland
Active in Scotland

Activities

Primary

Journalist
Novelist
Poet
Theologian

Other

Teacher/ Professor

Resources

Wilson's Works

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Now an undeservedly neglected figure, John Wilson was one of the most important magazinists and literary critics of the Romantic period. Writing mainly under the pseudonym of “Christopher North”, he was a mainstay of

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine

for which he produced numerous articles on various subjects, short stories, perceptive reviews, and his series

Noctes Ambrosianae

. Wilson was also a poet and writer of fiction whose greatest popular success came with his novels of rural Scottish life. Charismatic and brilliant, but emotionally volatile and capable of lashing out in print, Wilson had long (and sometimes troubled) associations with some of the major writers of his day, most notably Thomas De Quincey, James Hogg, and William Wordsworth.

Wilson was born on 18 May 1785 in

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1008 words

Citation: Higgins, David. "John Wilson". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 October 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4756, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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