author
David Masson
1822–1907
A leading Scottish man of letters, he helped shape the study of English literature in Victorian Britain and became especially known for his deep work on John Milton. His career also linked scholarship with public causes, including support for women's education and suffrage.
4 Audiobooks
The Life of John Milton, Volume 5 (of 7), 1654-1660 Narrated in Connexion with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of His Time
by David Masson
The Life of John Milton Volume 3 1643-1649 Narrated in Connexion with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of His Time
by David Masson
Edinburgh sketches & memories
by David Masson
About the author
Born in Aberdeen on December 2, 1822, David Mather Masson became a Scottish literary critic, historian, and academic whose work reached both universities and a wider reading public. He studied at Marischal College and later in Edinburgh, and after early work in journalism and criticism he went on to teach English language and literature at University College London.
Masson is best remembered for his large-scale scholarship on John Milton, including a major biography that helped establish his reputation as a serious literary historian. He also edited Macmillan's Magazine and, in 1865, became Regius Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, a post he held for many years.
Alongside his academic work, he supported women's higher education and women's suffrage, showing a public-minded side to his career. He died in Edinburgh on October 6, 1907, leaving behind a reputation as one of the important literary scholars of 19th-century Scotland.