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

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 19 March 2024.]

4756 John Wilson 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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