Robert Williams Buchanan

Andrew Nash (University of Reading)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Robert Buchanan was born in Caverswall in Staffordshire on 18 August 1841. His family moved to Glasgow in 1850 where Buchanan was educated at the High School and the University. His father was a socialist and atheist, and an outspoken editor of various Glasgow newspapers. Derided in his childhood as the son of an infidel, Buchanan's life and work were beset by religious questioning. He was torn between the agnosticism of his heritage and the spiritualism towards which he was inevitably drawn in the search for a replacement for the discredited orthodoxies of Christianity.

At University Buchanan became interested in the theatre and sent samples of his poetry to eminent figures in London, receiving some tempered encouragement from G. H. Lewes. After his father was declared bankrupt in 1859

1436 words

Citation: Nash, Andrew. "Robert Williams Buchanan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 November 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=627, accessed 19 March 2024.]

627 Robert Williams Buchanan 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.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.