Andrew Macdonald pen name

Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...

 Matthew Bramble, was a Scottish

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

 clergyman, poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

.

Early life and education

Andrew MacDonald was born on 27 February 1757, the son of George Donald, a gardener. The family lived in Leith

Leith

-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....

, the busy port for Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 on the Firth of Forth

Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...

, and Andrew Donald (as he was then) attended the Grammar School in Leith; at an early age he demonstrated a flair for music. The Donald family was Episcopalian; the non-juror

Nonjuring schism

The nonjuring schism was a split in the Church of England in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, over whether William of Orange and his wife Mary could legally be recognised as King and Queen of England....

 Scottish Episcopal Church

Scottish Episcopal Church

The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....

 at this time was heavily proscribed following its support for Bonnie Prince Charlie

Charles Edward Stuart

Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...

 in the Jacobite rising

Jacobite rising

The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...

 a few years before. Laws had been passed to prevent clergy

Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

 from officiating, and punished anyone who attended services.

Another resident in Leith at this period was the Scottish Episcopalian bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

, Robert Forbes

Robert Forbes (bishop)

Robert Forbes was the bishop of Ross and Caithness for the Scottish Episcopal Church. He is best remembered for his vocal Jacobite views.-Life:...

. The precocious gardener’s son impressed Bishop Forbes, who sent him to study at the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

 with a view to ordination

Ordination

In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...

. Although Scottish Episcopal ordination was officially banned at the time, Bishop Forbes ordained Andrew Donald into deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

’s orders in 1775. It was at this time that the surname was changed to Macdonald (also written as M’Donald).

Ministry

Andrew Macdonald spent a year as private tutor to the children of the Oliphants of Gask

Findo Gask

Findo Gask is a small village in Perth and Kinross in Scotland, just off the main A9 road. It is in Strathearn, the valley of the River Earn.There are nearby remains associated with the Roman Road to the south and the Roman Frontier on the Gask Ridge....

 in Perthshire

Perthshire

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...

. Mr and Mrs Laurence Oliphant were influential Jacobites

Jacobitism

Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...

, and their daughter Carolina, Baroness Nairne

Carolina, Baroness Nairne

Carolina Nairne, née Oliphant, Lady Nairne was a Scottish songwriter and song collector.-Life:Carolina Oliphant was born in the auld hoose of Gask, Perthshire. She was descended from Clan Oliphant, an old family which had settled in Perthshire in the 13th century, and could boast of kinship with...

, would later become celebrated for her popular Jacobite verse.

Macdonald left the Oliphants in about 1777 to become the Scottish Episcopal incumbent in the Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...

 city of Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. Bishop Forbes having died in November 1775, Macdonald was ordained priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 by Bishop William Falconer. At this time Glasgow had a thriving authorised ('qualified') Episcopal chapel

Chapel

A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

, St Andrew’s-by-the-Green, whilst Macdonald's small non-juror congregation assembled in a meeting-house in Stockwell Street. A book of his sermons from this period was published posthumously. Its preface

Preface

A preface is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a foreword and precedes an author's preface...

 states that Macdonald’s talents were held in high esteem, and his private virtues generally respected.

Macdonald was without private means, and the non-juror congregation in Glasgow was too small to support him from seat-rents. He supplemented his income with writing, and took in student lodgers. William Erskine, Lord Kinedder, (the judge and mentor of Sir Walter Scott) lodged with Macdonald during his student days, and recounted that it was Macdonald who had instilled in him a passion for English literature

English literature

English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....

. Macdonald was passionately fond of poetry and music; an accomplished violinist, he became a director of a music club in Glasgow.

Writing

Macdonald first appeared in print as a poet in 1782 when he published Velina, a poetical fragment in imitation of Spencer. A couple of years later he published a novel called The Independent, which was 'favourably spoken of by the majority of its readers'. Macdonald also wrote the play, Vimonda, a Tragedy. Alexander Tytler (who met Macdonald several times 'in companies of literary people') recorded that Macdonald married a young girl in Glasgow who had been his maidservant; the congregation did not approve and deserted his meeting-house. Macdonald became disgusted with his profession, resigned from his clerical duties, and moved to Edinburgh. It was in Edinburgh in 1787 that Vimonda was first performed, at the Theatre Royal. Walter Scott

Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....

, aged sixteen in 1787, would recall seeing Macdonald in James Sibbald’s circulating library (where Scott was also to spot Robert Burns

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...

). In Edinburgh he became a friend John Brown, the painter.

London

After just a few months in Edinburgh Macdonald travelled south to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, where, on 5 September 1787, Vimonda opened at George Colman

George Colman

George Colman may refer to:*George Colman the Elder , English dramatist*George Colman the Younger , English dramatist, son of the above-See also:*George Coleman, American musician...

’s theatre

Haymarket Theatre

The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use...

 in the Haymarket, the principal characters played by Mr Bensley, Mr Aickin

Francis Aickin

Francis Aickin , Irish actor, first appeared in London in 1765 as Dick Amlet in John Vanbrugh's The Confederacy at Drury Lane. He acted there, and at Covent Garden, until 1792. His repertory consisted of over eighty characters, and among his best parts were the Ghost in Hamlet and Jaques in As...

, Mr Kemble

Kemble family

Kemble is the name of a family of English actors, all distinguished actors and actresses who reigned over the British stage for decades. The most famous were Sarah Siddons and her brother John Philip Kemble , the two eldest of the twelve children of Roger Kemble , a strolling player and manager of...

, Mr Johnson, Mr Bannister jun., Miss Woolery, and Mrs Kemble. A review the next day praised the acting. Another reviewer suggested that, whilst Vimonda had some of the faults of a first play, the playwright had promise.

With the composer William Shield

William Shield

William Shield was an English composer, violinist and violist who was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, the son of William Shield and his wife, Mary, née Cash.-Life and musical career:...

 he started work on an opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

. To earn some money, Macdonald wrote for newspapers, mostly satirical pieces under the pseudonym Matthew Bramble (the name of a character in the novel Humphrey Clinker, by fellow Scot, Tobias Smollett

Tobias Smollett

Tobias George Smollett was a Scottish poet and author. He was best known for his picaresque novels, such as The Adventures of Roderick Random and The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle , which influenced later novelists such as Charles Dickens.-Life:Smollett was born at Dalquhurn, now part of Renton,...

). Financial worries forced the family to move from Brompton to ‘a mean residence’ in Kentish Town

Kentish Town

Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...

. Although by nature buoyant, amiable, and engaging, the pressure of his hardships overwhelmed Macdonald, and ‘having no powerful friends to patronise his abilities, and suffering under the infirmities of a weak constitution, he fell victim, at the age of three and thirty, to sickness, disappointment and misfortune.’ Andrew Macdonald died on 22 August 1790, leaving his wife and young child destitute.

Legacy

The Independent appeared in German translation in 1789. In 1805, in the United States, William Ioor recast the same novel as a comedy in five acts. Under the title, Laura, Macdonald's 1782 sonnet appeared in The Wiccamical Chaplet by George Huddesford

George Huddesford

Rev. George Huddesford was a painter and a satirical poet in Oxford. Huddesford published a number of works. His first was described by Fanny Burney as a "vile poem" as it revealed that she had written the novel, Evelina.-Life:...

 (1804), followed by another sonnet, The return of Laura, not by Macdonald. A snatch of a ballad by Macdonald was quoted by Sir Walter Scott in chapter 11 of Waverley

Waverley (novel)

Waverley is an 1814 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. Initially published anonymously in 1814 as Scott's first venture into prose fiction, Waverley is often regarded as the first historical novel. It became so popular that Scott's later novels were advertised as being "by the author of...

(1814). Two stanzas by the ingenious and unhappy Andrew Macdonald appear in chapter 21 of Scott's 1819 novel A Legend of Montrose

A Legend of Montrose

A Legend of Montrose is an historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, set in Scotland in the 1640s during the Civil War. It forms, along with The Bride of Lammermoor, the 3rd series of Scott's Tales of My Landlord...

; a German translation of the Macdonald verses provided Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert

Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...

 with the text for his song, Lied der Anne Lyle (D830, 1825). Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...

made an arrangement of another Macdonald song, By the stream so cool and clear (St Kilda Song) (Hob. XXXIa, 19).

Publications

• Velina, a poetical fragment, Edinburgh, 1782; published with the ninety-nine stanzas of Velina are a sonnet (Deep shelter'd in thy native forest green), the Ode on the Scots Music (What words, my Laura, can express), and On a Lady Sleeping (Where my Laura is laid).

• The Independent (a novel), 1784.

• Vimonda, a Tragedy in five acts and in verse (a play), printed in London and Dublin, 1788.

• Laura (a novel), 1790?.

• Twenty-eight Miscellaneous Sermons by Andrew Macdonald, London, 1790, with 1793 edition as Twenty-nine Miscellaneous Sermons.

• The Miscellaneous Works of A. M’Donald, including the Tragedy of Vimonda, and those productions which have appeared under the signature of Matthew Bramble, Esq., with various other compositions by the same author, London, 1791. (Included in this volume is the unfinished The Fair Apostate (a tragedy), Princess of Tarento (a comedy), Love and Loyalty (an opera), and Probationary Odes for the Laureateship.)

• A supplement to the works of Peter Pindar, Esq. being a select collection of humorous poems which have appeared under the signature of Matthew Bramble, Esq., London, 1797.

• Four poems by A. Macdonald of Glasgow in the second volume of Poetry; Original and Selected, published in Glasgow by Brash and Reid, 1797?: Ode on the Scotish (sic.) Music (see Velina above) and The Power of Harmony (stanzas 78-81 from Velina ); The comforts of an inn (When early the sun sinks in winter to bed); and The Parsonage (Not remote from a church where the peasants implore).

Sources

• Alexander Campbell: An Introduction to the History of Poetry in Scotland, Edinburgh, 1798.

• Ed. Joseph Robertson: Lives of Scottish Poets, London, 1822.

• Ralston Inglis: The Dramatic Writers of Scotland, Glasgow 1868.