author
Francis Watt
1849–1927
A Scottish barrister with a storyteller’s eye, this writer turned legal oddities, city history, and literary lives into lively, readable books. His work moves easily between Edinburgh, the Inns of Court, and the world of Robert Louis Stevenson.
3 Audiobooks
The book of Edinburgh anecdote
by Francis Watt
The Law's Lumber Room (Second Series)
by Francis Watt
The Law's Lumber Room
by Francis Watt
About the author
Born in Haddington, Scotland, on September 20, 1849, Francis Watt studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he took an honors degree. He later became a barrister and spent much of his life around the Temple in London, while also building a reputation as an author with a strong interest in history, law, and Scottish culture.
Watt wrote on a wide range of subjects, including legal curiosities, Edinburgh life, pilgrimage, and literature. His books include The Law's Lumber Room, The Book of Edinburgh Anecdote, Edinburgh and the Lothians, Canterbury Pilgrims and Their Ways, and a study of Robert Louis Stevenson. He also contributed articles to the Dictionary of National Biography.
He died in 1927 at Herne Hill, London. What makes his work appealing now is its blend of learning and ease: he clearly knew his subjects well, but he wrote for ordinary readers, with an eye for character, anecdote, and the small details that bring history to life.