author
active 1840-1883 Sutherland Menzies
Best known for lively historical and biographical writing, this 19th-century British author ranged from court intrigue and European history to one of the early classic werewolf tales. The name is also tied to a long-running authorship puzzle, which has only added to the fascination around the work.
3 Audiobooks
Political Women, Vol. 1
by active 1840-1883 Sutherland Menzies
The Art of Needle-work, from the Earliest Ages, 3rd ed. Including Some Notices of the Ancient Historical Tapestries
by active 1840-1883 Sutherland Menzies
Political Women, Vol. 2
by active 1840-1883 Sutherland Menzies
About the author
Sutherland Menzies is generally identified as James Sutherland Menzies (1806–1886), a British author who published history, biography, fiction, and translations. Sources connected with his work list books including Political Women, Royal Favourites, History of France for Junior Classes, History of Germany for Junior Classes, Turkey Old and New, and the much-remembered gothic tale Hugues, The Wer-Wolf.
His writing seems to have had two strong sides: readable popular history and dramatic storytelling. The surviving bibliography shows a special interest in European politics, royal courts, and notable women in history, along with translations from writers such as Schiller, Victor Hugo, and Goethe.
There is also some uncertainty around the name itself. Wikisource describes James Sutherland Menzies as the British author who wrote under the name Sutherland Menzies, while other catalog records note that some works—especially Hugues, The Wer-Wolf—have also been linked by scholars to Elizabeth Stone. Because of that, the byline carries a small literary mystery as well as a substantial body of Victorian-era writing.