author
Francis Watt
1849–1927
A Scottish-born barrister and man of letters, he brought warmth, humor, and a deep love of place to books on Edinburgh, the Inns of Court, and Robert Louis Stevenson. His writing feels learned without ever losing its friendly, anecdotal charm.
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
Francis Watt was born in Haddington, Scotland, on September 20, 1849, and later studied at the University of Edinburgh, where he took an honors degree. He also studied at Heidelberg, and early on became a friend of Robert Louis Stevenson — a connection that later shaped one of his best-known literary works.
Although trained for the law and eventually called to the bar, Watt seems to have been remembered as much for his literary life as for legal practice. Contemporary and later sources describe him as a well-liked barrister associated with the Temple in London, and his books show a clear fondness for history, character sketches, and the stories hidden inside familiar places.
His works include The Book of Edinburgh Anecdote, Edinburgh and the Lothians, The Canterbury Pilgrims and Their Ways, The Law's Lumber Room, and a biography of Stevenson, R.L.S. He died at Herne Hill in London on October 4, 1927, leaving behind writing that mixed scholarship, local color, and an easy conversational spirit.