author
Arthur Sidgwick
1840–1920
A gifted classicist and teacher, he helped make Greek literature feel alive for generations of students. He was also an important supporter of women’s education at Oxford, giving his scholarly work a wider human purpose.
1 Audiobook
Walking essays
by Arthur Sidgwick
About the author
Arthur Sidgwick was an English classical scholar, schoolteacher, and writer who lived from 1840 to 1920. He is best remembered for his teaching and for books such as An Introduction to Greek Prose Composition, which became a well-known classroom text. Accounts of his life also describe him as an especially fine guide to ancient Greek poetry.
Beyond the classroom, Sidgwick played a notable part in the advancement of women’s education at the University of Oxford. That work gives his career a broader significance: he was not only a scholar of the ancient world, but also someone who helped widen access to higher learning in his own time.
He also wrote on education and literary subjects, and his reputation has lasted less through showy scholarship than through clarity, judgment, and the influence he had on students and colleagues.