Rosaline Masson
Encyclopedia
Rosaline Masson was prolific writer of novels, biographies, histories and other works. She was born on 6 May 1867 in 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...

 and was the daughter of David Masson
David Masson
David Masson , was a Scottish writer.He was born in Aberdeen, and educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and at Marischal College, University of Aberdeen. Intending to enter the Church, he proceeded to Edinburgh University, where he studied theology under Dr Thomas Chalmers, with whom he remained...

, Professor of Rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...

 and 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....

 at Edinburgh University, and of Emily Rosaline Orme. She sometimes calls herself 'Rosaline Orme Masson' (perhaps in intimation of her brother, David Orme Masson
David Orme Masson
Sir David Orme Masson KBE FRS was a scientist born in England who emigrated to Australia to become Professor of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne.-Early life:...

), but the second name is not in her birth or death certificates. She died on 7 December 1947 in Edinburgh.

Literary Associations

Through her father, Rosaline Masson encountered many of the literary giants of her day who visited them at home in Edinburgh. She has many anecdotes of these encounters in her book, Poets, Patriots, and Lovers, that give insights into their personalities. Here are a sample:

Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...

:


She has a ‘hazy memory’ of Carlyle “standing by my table stooping as he spread golden syrup on a slice of bread for me at my breakfast.”

Robert Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...

:


Later, in April 1884, (aged 16) she flirted innocently with the poet Browning (aged 71) who came over to her at breakfast and said:

“Why, I declare! You were going to have said good-morning to me, weren’t you?

“Yes, I was.”

“Why, I declare! You were going to have given me a kiss!”

“No, I wasn’t. . . . But if you will give me one, I will keep it all my life.”.

Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....

:


She also spent a fortnight or so with the philosopher at his home in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

. She recalled that Spencer abhorred casual visitors. When a star struck American came to visit, he was informed that “Mr Spencer is not able to receive visitors.” The American gentleman replied: “But I have come all the way from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 on purpose, Sir! I assure you that with us the name of Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....

 . . .” But this importuning was too much for the sofa-confined philosopher who called out: “Send him away! Don’t let him come in!” The reply was: “I have heard the voice of Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era....

! I can now return to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 satisfied!”

J. M. Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...

:

During one dinner with her family, Barrie
J. M. Barrie
Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...

 was not in a talkative mood. Many attempts were made to draw him out, until a lady ventured to ask: "'Are you musical, Mr. Barrie?' The answer came gloomily: 'No, I’m not. I can never tell one tune from another. I dislike music.'. . After a moment’s pause, in the same subdued tone: 'I was musical critic on The _____ for several years.'"

Biographies

  • Pollock
    Robert Pollok
    Robert Pollok was a Scottish poet best known for The Course of Time, published the year of his death.Pollok was born at North Moorhouse Farm, Loganswell Renfrewshire, Scotland. Sources differ on the exact year of his birth, some giving 1789, some 1798, and some 1799...

     and Aytoun.
    Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier
    Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier
    This Edinburgh book publishing firm produced many hundreds of books mainly on religious and biographical themes, especially during its heyday from about 1880 to 1910. It is probably best remembered for its memorable ‘Famous Scots Series’ with their distinctive red and gilt covers. Forty-two of...

    , 1898, ("Famous Scots Series")
  • Wordsworth. London: The People's Books,1912.
  • Robert Louis Stevenson
    Robert Louis Stevenson
    Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....

    . London: The People's Books, 1912.
  • The life of Robert Louis Stevenson
    Robert Louis Stevenson
    Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....

    . Edinburgh & London: W. & R. Chambers, 1923.
  • Poets, Patriots, and Lovers: Sketches and Memories of Famous People. London: James Clarke & Co. Ltd., [1933].

Histories

  • Scotia's Darling Seat, 1875-1925 ... Illustrated, etc. Edinburgh: R. Grant & Son, 1926
  • A Short History of Scotland the Nation. London: Thomas Nelson & Sons
    Thomas Nelson (publisher)
    Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in Scotland in 1798 as the namesake of its founder. Its former US division is currently the sixth largest American trade publisher and the world's largest Christian publisher. It is owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company...

     Ltd., 1942.
  • Scotland the Nation. Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson & Sons
    Thomas Nelson (publisher)
    Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in Scotland in 1798 as the namesake of its founder. Its former US division is currently the sixth largest American trade publisher and the world's largest Christian publisher. It is owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company...

     Ltd., [1934]
  • Edinburgh. Described by Rosaline Masson, painted by John Fulleylove
    John Fulleylove
    John Fulleylove was an English landscape artist and illustrator.Born in Leicester, he originally trained as an architect with local firm "Shenton and Baker", before becoming an artist in watercolours and oils...

    , London : Adam and Charles Black
    A & C Black
    A & C Black is a British book publishing company.The firm was founded in 1807 by Adam and Charles Black in Edinburgh, and moved to the Soho district of London in 1889. In 1851, the firm bought the copyright of Walter Scott's Waverley Novels for £27,000. In 1902 it published P. G...

    , 1904.

Edited Works

  • Three centuries of English poetry: being selections from Chaucer to Herrick
    Robert Herrick (poet)
    Robert Herrick was a 17th-century English poet.-Early life:Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith....

    : with introductions and notes. London: Macmillan & Co.
    Macmillan Publishers
    Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...

    , 1876.
  • In Praise of 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...

    . An anthology
    Anthology
    An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...

     in prose and verse, (selected and edited), London: Constable & Co
    Constable & Robinson
    Constable & Robinson Ltd. is an independent British book publisher of fiction and non-fiction works. Founded in Edinburgh in 1795 by Archibald Constable as Constable & Co. it is probably the oldest independent publisher in the English-speaking world still operating under the name of its...

    , 1912
  • I can remember Robert Louis Stevenson
    Robert Louis Stevenson
    Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....

    . (edited), Edinburgh & London: W. & R. Chambers, 1923.
  • Shakespeare personally ... Edited and arranged by Rosaline Masson. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
    Smith, Elder & Co.
    Smith, Elder & Co. was a firm of British publishers who were most noted for the works they published in the 19th century.The firm was founded by George Smith and Alexander Elder and successfully continued by George Murray Smith .They are notable for producing the first edition of the Dictionary...

    , 1914.
  • Use and Abuse of English: a hand-book of composition ... Fourth edition - revised. Edinburgh: James Thin
    James Thin
    James Thin was, until 2002, the principal academic bookshop in Edinburgh, Scotland, with its main premises near the University of Edinburgh in Infirmary Street. It also had branches in other cities, including Perth and Dundee....

    , 1924

Novels and Stories

  • My Poor Niece and other stories. London: T. F. Unwin
    T. Fisher Unwin
    T. Fisher Unwin was the London publishing house owned by Thomas Fisher Unwin and founded by him in 1882.The latterly more famous Stanley Unwin started his career by coming to work in his uncle's firm...

    , 1893
  • A Departure from Tradition, and other stories. London: Bliss Sands & Co., 1898
  • The Transgressors. London: Hodder & Stoughton
    Hodder & Stoughton
    Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...

    , 1899
  • In Our Town. [A novel], London: Hodder & Stoughton
    Hodder & Stoughton
    Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...

    , 1901
  • Leslie Farquhar. London: John Murray
    John Murray (publisher)
    John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...

    , 1902
  • Our Bye-Election. Bristol: J. W. Arrowsmith, 1908
  • Nina. London: Macmillan & Co
    Macmillan Publishers
    Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...

    ., 1911
  • A Better Man. London & Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, [1928].

Sources

  • Births and deaths information available at the General Register Office for Scotland, Scotlands People Centre in Edinburgh, and also at http://scotlandspeople.gov.uk
  • Poets, Patriots, and Lovers : Sketches and Memories of Famous People, London : James Clarke & Co. Ltd., [1933].
  • British Library catalogue: http://www.bl.uk
  • http://openlibrary.org
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