author
J. Pringle (James Pringle) Thomson
1889–1916
Best known for clear, compact books on Scottish history, this young Scottish scholar published work that stayed in print long after his short life ended. He studied at St Andrews, wrote on the Covenanters and the Jacobite rebellions, and died in 1916 during the First World War.
1 Audiobook
The Jacobite Rebellions (1689-1746) (Bell's Scottish History Source Books.)
by J. Pringle (James Pringle) Thomson
About the author
James Pringle Thomson was a Scottish writer and editor born on November 21, 1889. Project Gutenberg lists him as J. Pringle (James Pringle) Thomson, 1889–1916, and his surviving books include The Jacobite Rebellions (1689–1746). That volume identifies him as J. Pringle Thomson, M.A. and also credits him with Alexander Henderson, the Covenanter and The Scottish Covenanters.
A University of St Andrews collections post adds a little more of the person behind the byline: Thomson was from Dundee, was educated at Dundee High School and Morrison’s Academy in Crieff, entered St Andrews in 1907, and graduated with honors in English in October 1910. The same source notes that he died on August 15, 1916, in the First World War.
His work has an accessible, practical feel, especially in the short historical volumes that introduced readers to major episodes in Scotland’s past. Even with only a small surviving bibliography, he remains a memorable figure as a promising young scholar whose writing outlived a life cut short.