Kailyard School

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

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In aesthetic terms, the ‘Kailyard School’ was a minor literary movement that originated in William Robertson Nicoll’s

British Weekly

and, through the influence of Nicoll, at Hodder and Stoughton publishing. J. M. Barrie (1860-1937) contributed under the pseudonym ‘Gavin Ogilvy’ and the Reverend John Watson (1850-1907) wrote as ‘Ian McLaren’. S. R. Crockett (1859-1914) completed the Kailyard triumvirate, though he developed outside of Nicoll’s direct influence. All three writers were Edinburgh University graduates; Watson and Crockett attended the New Theological College before entering the Free Church of Scotland ministry. Crockett’s literary success led him to resign his ministry and to write full-time. The etymology of the ‘School’s’ name is: “Scots

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Citation: McLuckie, Craig. "Kailyard School". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 June 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1286, accessed 28 March 2024.]

1286 Kailyard School 2 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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