Robert Shelton Mackenzie (1809-1880), Mornings at Matlock (volume 1), 1850. Courtesy Amazon.com.
Robert Shelton Mackenzie (June 22, 1809 - November 21, 1880) was an Irish poet, editor, and journalist, who emigrated to the United States.[1]
Life[]
Youth and education[]
Mackenzie was born at Drews Court, co. Limerick, the 2nd son of Maria (Shelton) and Captain Kenneth Mackenzie, an officer in the army (and author of a volume of Gaelic poetry, published in Glasgow in 1796).[2]
He was educated at a school in Fermoy, co. Cork, where his father held the office of postmaster after retiring from the army.[2]
At the age of 13 he was apprenticed to an apothecary in Cork.[2]
Career[]
Mackenzie seems to have opened a school in Fermoy after serving his term, and in 1825–1826 was still in that town, writing poems for the Dublin and London Magazine and other journals over the signature of "Sholto." The statement that he graduated in medicine at Dublin is unconfirmed by the university register.[2]
About 1828 he acted for a short time as editor of a paper at Hanley, Staffordshire. In 1828 his debut work, a volume of poems entitled Lays of Palestine, appeared in London.[2]
After 1830 he went to London, and wrote for various journals, including the Lady's Magazine and the London Magazine. He contributed biographies to The Georgian Era (1832–1834), and was engaged on the staff of several London newspapers. Besides writing for the Dublin University Magazine (1837–1838), he edited the Liverpool Journal and corresponded with American papers.[2]
In 1834, he was appointed the English correspondent for the New York Evening Star (possibly the first European correspondent for an American newspaper), contributing articles to that paper through 1851.[1]
In 1852, following financial difficulties and the death of his wife, he emigrated to the United States, settling in New York. He worked for New York newspapers for the next 5 years.[1]
In 1857 he moved to Philadelphia to become literary and foreign affairs editor and dramatic critic for the Philadelphia Press, positions which he held for the next 20 years. In the last years of his life, he worked as a literary editor at the Philadelphia Daily News. He died in Philadelphia in 1880.[1]
Writing[]
Dictionary of National Biography: "His original writings are not remarkable, but one or two of his compilations are extremely useful."[2]
Recognition[]
In 1834, according to his biographers, he received the degree of LL.D. from Glasgow University.[2]
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- Lays of Palestine. London: 1828.[2]
Novels[]
- Titian: A romance of Venice. (3 volumes), London: R. Bentley, 1843. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III
Short fiction[]
- Mornings at Matlock. London: 1850. Volume I, Volume II
- Bits of Blarney. New York: Redfield, 1854.
Non-fiction[]
- Tressilian and His Friends. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1859.
- Life of Charles Dickens. Philadelphia: T.B. Petersen & Brothers, 1870.
- Sir Walter Scott: The story of his life. Boston: J.R. Osgood, 1871.
Edited[]
- James Sheridan Knowles, The Dramatic works of J.S.K. Calcutta: W. Rushton, 1838.
- Noctes ambrosianae (5 volumes), New York: Redfield, 1854. Volume I
- William Henry Curran, The Life of the Right Honorable John Philpot Curran: Late master of the rolls in Ireland. New York: W.J. Widdleton, 1855.
- William Maginn, Miscellaneous Writings. (5 volumes), New York: Redfield, 1855-1857.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[3]
See also[]
References[]
O'Donoghue, David James (1893) "Mackenzie, Robert Shelton" in Lee, Sidney Dictionary of National Biography 35 London: Smith, Elder, pp. 161-162. Wikisource, Web, Aug. 12, 2016.
Notes[]
External links[]
- Poems
- "A Lay to the Departed"
- Mackenzie, Robert Shelton at Digital Victorian Periodical Poetry (11 poems)
- Books
- Robert Shelton Mackenzie at Amazon.com
- About
- Mackenzie, Robert Shelton in the Dictionary of Irish Biography
- Mackenzie, Robert Shelton (1809-1880) at Lehigh University
- Robert Shelton Mackenzie (1809-1880) at English Poetry, 1579-1830
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen & Sidney Lee). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Mackenzie, Robert Shelton
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