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584:“The critical study of Scottish literature owes much to Janet Adam Smith. … Ernest Mehew, the editor of the great Yale University edition of Stevenson's Letters, paid tribute to the ‘leading part’ she played ‘in the revival of critical interest in Stevenson's life and work at a time when he was largely ignored in academic circles’. He referred to the biography, her edition of Stevenson's correspondence with Henry James, and her two editions of Stevenson's poetry (1950 and 1971) – ‘a major work of scholarship which has not been superseded’.
598:“But her masterpiece was her biography of John Buchan. It is probably hard for people today to realise just how low Buchan's reputation stood in the early Sixties. He was dismissed as a mere entertainer with disreputable political and social views. Janet Adam Smith corrected misconceptions and restored him to his proper status as a serious writer and public figure. Everyone who has written subsequently on Buchan is in her debt. Like all her work, the biography was written with a beautiful and authoritative lucidity.
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242:
604:“Based in England throughout her adult life, she nevertheless remained committed to Scotland and Scottish literature. Karl Miller was right in seeing her as being an heir of the Edinburgh Reviewers, for she was one of the last representatives of the Scottish Enlightenment, marrying clear and bold thinking to generous feeling."
91:
wrote: "Biographer, mountaineer, critic, literary editor, textual scholar, comic versifier, visiting professor, hostess, anthologist, traveller – there seemed to be nothing at which Janet Adam Smith did not shine. And she shone with an intensity that made others glow in response".
432:, recalled that "Janet used to take the trouble of writing to people to tell them what was wrong with their articles". Miller saw her – and himself – as "Edinburgh reviewers, latter-day examples of an auld Scots element in literary journalism".
530:
She was a keen and accomplished hill-walker and mountaineer. When working in London in her twenties, she would sometimes travel back to
Aberdeen taking a night train to Aviemore, Kingussie or Blair Atholl, and then walking over the
422:
In 1948, left a widow with four young children to educate, she returned to a salaried position in journalism, becoming first assistant literary editor (1949–52), then literary editor (1952–60), of the
178:(where the school was evacuated during the war). In 1945 the family moved to London, where Michael Roberts had become Principal of the College of St Mark and St John, in Chelsea (which later moved to
85:(9 December 1905 – 11 September 1999) was a Scottish writer, editor, literary journalist, and champion of Scottish literature. She was active from the 1930s through to the end of the century.
1004:
601:“Though she wrote no major work after Buchan, she remained an industrious literary journalist … She remained intellectually alert and eager to read new work into extreme old age. …
1014:
159:, who was a poet, critic, editor, mathematician, and, like her, a passionate mountaineer. Roberts's anthologies of contemporary verse had already established him as, in
538:
In the 1950s she organized many parties of friends and older children to the Alps to climb and to enjoy the pleasures of mobile holidays. She did a number of classic
1009:
561:, provided a basis for establishment in December 1992 of the Oxford Mountaineering Library. Since 2019 this has been based in the Geography collections in the
479:(1965), her understanding of Buchan's temperament and habit of mind owed much to their common cultural background of the democratic and independent-minded
591:
and the Idea of
Scotland, given at the University of Edinburgh in 1963, gave an impetus to the revival of academic interest in Scott. Her analysis of
364:
has been widely praised. Dr Kate Murphy, Senior
Lecturer in History at Bournemouth University, has said of Janet Adam Smith that "her six years on
825:
435:
She still found time for her own work: almost 20 years after
Michael Roberts had edited, at T.S. Eliot’s invitation, the classic anthology, the
984:
941:, 14 September 1999. This has been used extensively as a source for the present article. Minor amendments with the kind approval of the author.
344:. As assistant editor, she dealt with articles on art, selected reviewers for literary books, and published new poetry, especially the work of
388:
Finding herself with three small children in
Penrith during the war, while Michael worked in London for the BBC's European Service, she wrote
558:
1024:
183:
325:
259:
228:
churchyard, southwest of
Edinburgh. The grave stands in the north-east corner of the modern cemetery extension south of the church.
385:. Between 1936 and 1939 she wrote over a hundred reviews for London weeklies, of books by Scots writers or on Scottish subjects.
999:
994:
306:
171:
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Janet and
Michael Roberts had built up a large collection of books on mountaineering, which, along with the collection of the
480:
278:
263:
850:
143:
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area of London, which remained her home until her death in 1999. In 1965, she married John Dudley
Carleton, headmaster of
128:
499:
487:
285:
515:
113:
82:
368:
were without question of huge import to the journal and she left a legacy that was remembered for decades to come."
437:
292:
252:
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775:
380:
156:
105:
920:. In 2013 further papers that had come to light, including letters from Beatrix Potter/Heelis, were donated.
274:
785:
340:
587:“Stevenson was not alone in benefiting from her enthusiastic and discriminating advocacy. Two lectures on
562:
408:
199:
195:
519:
465:
207:
543:
979:
974:
797:
Nicolas Barker, obituary: "Janet Adam Smith: A Woman of
Substance in Literature and Mountaineering",
191:
925:
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913:
958:
503:
167:
109:
415:(1948) and prepared a scholarly edition of Stevenson's collected poems (1950), both published by
218:
132:
873:
104:
FBA (1856–1942), was a
Biblical scholar, Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament exegesis, at the
702:
514:
She received an honorary degree (Hon. LL.D.) from Aberdeen University in 1962 and was made an
416:
379:, and in 1936 succeeded Michael Roberts as chief reviewer of poetry in T.S. Eliot's quarterly
299:
203:
187:
101:
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588:
213:
Michael Roberts died on 13 December 1948. Shortly after, the family moved to a house in the
175:
855:
816:
767:
469:
349:
735:, Cape, London, 1952; subsequent edns., various publishers, 1974, 1986, 1997 & 2011;
454:
357:
121:
392:(1946; reissued 1996), in which she recalled pre-war climbs in Scotland and the Alps.
968:
846:
811:
424:
117:
88:
578:
539:
353:
214:
912:
Inventories of these holdings in the National Library of Scotland may be found at
407:(1948). Her short biography (1937) had already established her as an authority on
780:
577:
shortly after her death in September 1999, the Scottish novelist and journalist
551:
476:
429:
412:
241:
194:, b. 1937; Henrietta Dombey, Professor of Literacy in Primary Education at the
757:
615:
Poems of Tomorrow: An Anthology of Contemporary Verse chosen from The Listener
532:
475:
When, at the request of the Buchan family, she came to write her biography of
345:
160:
646:
Henry James and Robert Louis Stevenson: A Record of Friendship and Criticism
450:
428:, still the house magazine of the intellectual Left. One of her successors,
395:
In London from 1945 onward, she continued to write and edit. To the series
224:
Janet died on 11 September 1999 and is remembered on her parents' grave in
719:, Methuen, London, 1949; 2nd edn., Vertebrate Publishing, Sheffield, 2019;
338:
She joined the BBC in 1928, and from 1930 to 1935 was assistant editor of
179:
163:'s phrase, "expositor and interpreter of the poetry of his generation".
554:, 1978–80; and was elected to honorary membership of the club in 1993.
266: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
498:
Imbued with the tradition of public service, she was a Trustee of the
749:, Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1957; 2nd edn., Diadem, Leicester, 1978.
225:
148:
100:
She was born into the old Scots intellectual elite. Her father, Sir
453:, translated from the French several mountaineering books, notably
547:
954:
926:
http://www.nls.uk/catalogues/online/cnmi/inventories/acc13861.pdf
922:
http://www.nls.uk/catalogues/online/cnmi/inventories/acc13396.pdf
918:
http://www.nls.uk/catalogues/online/cnmi/inventories/acc12342.pdf
914:
http://www.nls.uk/catalogues/online/cnmi/inventories/acc11164.pdf
235:
502:
from 1950 to 1985, a remarkable record, and president of the
210:, writer on energy issues and Middle East politics, b. 1947.
629:, Dent, London, 1946, 2nd edn., Ernest Press, Glasgow, 1996;
829:, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition Oct. 2005.
687:
The Living Stream: An Anthology of Twentieth-century Verse
411:. She now edited the correspondence between Stevenson and
888:
Behind the Wireless: A History of Early Women at the BBC
676:, Looking Glass Library, Random House, New York, 1959;
135:, Oxford, where she read English, graduating in 1926.
108:
in Glasgow, and then, from 1909 to 1935, Principal of
69:
61:
53:
39:
27:
20:
655:, Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1950; 2nd edn., 1971;
722:(trans. jointly with Nea Morin) R. Frison-Roche,
738:(trans. jointly with Nea Morin) Bernard Pierre,
729:(trans. jointly with Nea Morin) Maurice Herzog,
112:. Her mother was Lilian Adam Smith, daughter of
745:(trans. jointly with Nea Morin) G. Gervasutti,
449:(1958) and, with her friend and fellow climber
221:from 1957 to 1970. He died on 6 November 1974.
1005:People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College
8:
565:in the Manor Road Building, Oxford OX1 3UQ.
550:(1958). She served as vice-president of the
190:, Professor of the History of Africa at the
1015:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
445:(1953). She also edited Michael Roberts's
202:, Professor of International Relations at
17:
924:; and in 2017 further papers were added.
542:, including the Mer de Glace face of the
326:Learn how and when to remove this message
890:, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2016.
142:
961:, with 19 library catalogue records
839:
826:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
653:Robert Louis Stevenson: Collected Poems
569:Assessment of her literary contribution
441:, she matched his achievement with the
742:, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1955;
559:Oxford University Mountaineering Club
522:for services to Scottish literature.
7:
1010:Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford
617:, Chatto & Windus, London, 1935;
264:adding citations to reliable sources
899:Cited by Allan Massie, obituary in
184:University of St Mark & St John
705:, privately printed, London, 2005.
695:, Thames and Hudson, London, 1979;
682:, Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1965;
648:, Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1948;
14:
360:and Michael Roberts. Her work at
814:, "Obituary: Janet Adam Smith",
760:
710:Translations by Janet Adam Smith
689:, Faber and Faber, London, 1969;
669:, Faber and Faber, London, 1958;
667:Michael Roberts: Collected Poems
662:, Faber and Faber, London, 1953;
240:
674:The Looking Glass Book of Verse
546:(1955) and the traverse of the
251:needs additional citations for
96:Family background and education
660:Faber Book of Children’s Verse
486:Most of her papers are in the
443:Faber Book of Children's Verse
147:Memorial to Janet Adam Smith,
1:
985:20th-century Scottish writers
375:, an anthology of poems from
870:Burke's Irish Family Records
859:, London, 13 September 1999.
823:John D. Haigh, entry in the
820:, London, 13 September 1999.
801:, London, 14 September 1999.
639:Children's Illustrated Books
573:In an obituary published in
526:Mountains and mountaineering
500:National Library of Scotland
488:National Library of Scotland
405:Children's Illustrated Books
1025:20th-century Scottish women
699:An Autobiography, 1905–1926
186:). They had four children:
116:, FRS, in whose honour the
1041:
937:Allan Massie, obituary in
872:(5th (reprint) ed.).
717:First on the Rope: A Novel
715:(trans.) R. Frison-Roche,
623:, Duckworth, London, 1937;
464:In 1961 and 1964, she was
438:Faber Book of Modern Verse
129:Cheltenham Ladies' College
740:A Mountain Called Nun Kun
693:John Buchan and his World
608:Books by Janet Adam Smith
131:, and in 1923 went on to
80:Janet Buchanan Adam Smith
31:Janet Buchanan Adam Smith
804:Allan Massie, obituary,
776:Michael Roberts (writer)
726:, Methuen, London, 1952;
680:John Buchan: A Biography
641:, Collins, London, 1948;
635:, Collins, London, 1946;
510:Honours and distinctions
170:(where he taught at the
371:In 1935, she published
127:In 1919, Janet went to
1000:Scottish women writers
995:Scottish women editors
621:Robert Louis Stevenson
563:Social Science Library
468:Visiting Professor at
409:Robert Louis Stevenson
196:University of Brighton
152:
520:1982 New Year Honours
466:Virginia Gildersleeve
174:), then from 1939 in
146:
1020:New Statesman people
903:, 14 September 1999.
876:. 1976. p. 213.
808:, 14 September 1999.
633:Life Among the Scots
401:Life among the Scots
260:improve this article
192:University of London
172:Royal Grammar School
155:In 1935 she married
959:Library of Congress
747:Gervasutti's Climbs
533:Cairngorm Mountains
506:from 1976 to 1984.
504:Royal Literary Fund
397:Britain in Pictures
168:Newcastle upon Tyne
114:Sir George Buchanan
110:Aberdeen University
106:Free Church College
701:, with preface by
544:Aiguille du Grépon
399:, she contributed
275:"Janet Adam Smith"
232:Career and writing
219:Westminster School
153:
133:Somerville College
724:The Last Crevasse
703:Andrew D. Roberts
627:Mountain Holidays
417:Rupert Hart-Davis
390:Mountain Holidays
373:Poems of Tomorrow
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204:Oxford University
102:George Adam Smith
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43:11 September 1999
35:Glasgow, Scotland
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575:The Scotsman
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341:The Listener
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258:Please help
253:verification
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208:John Roberts
200:Adam Roberts
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45:(1999-09-11)
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980:1999 deaths
975:1905 births
781:Alpine Club
552:Alpine Club
481:Free Church
477:John Buchan
430:Karl Miller
413:Henry James
403:(1946) and
198:, b. 1939;
139:Family life
969:Categories
834:References
346:W.H. Auden
286:newspapers
161:T.S. Eliot
151:Churchyard
73:Journalism
54:Occupation
916:; and at
732:Annapurna
459:Annapurna
451:Nea Morin
851:obituary
754:See also
593:Waverley
461:(1952).
180:Plymouth
62:Language
581:wrote:
518:in the
300:scholar
176:Penrith
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279:news
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28:Born
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516:OBE
457:'s
262:by
120:'s
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