J. W. (John William) Robertson Scott

author

J. W. (John William) Robertson Scott

1866–1962

A lively British journalist and author, he became one of the best-known voices writing about country life and rural reform. He is especially remembered for founding The Countryman and for books that looked closely at life beyond the cities.

2 Audiobooks

The foundations of Japan : Notes made during journeys of 6,000 miles in the rural districts as a basis for a sounder knowledge of the Japanese people

The foundations of Japan : Notes made during journeys of 6,000 miles in the rural districts as a basis for a sounder knowledge of the Japanese people

by J. W. (John William) Robertson Scott

The strange story of the Dunmow flitch

The strange story of the Dunmow flitch

by J. W. (John William) Robertson Scott

About the author

Born in Wigton, Cumberland, on April 20, 1866, John William Robertson Scott was a British journalist and author whose work centered on rural affairs. Sources consistently describe him as a writer who cared deeply about the realities of country life rather than the romantic version often imagined from a distance.

Before settling in Oxfordshire, he worked in journalism and also spent years studying rural life in Japan, which led to his book The Foundations of Japan. In 1927, from Idbury Manor, he founded The Countryman, a magazine created as a forum for ideas about rural life and improvement, and he remained closely associated with it for many years.

Robertson Scott lived a long life, dying in Idbury on December 21, 1962. He is remembered not only as an author, but as a thoughtful public voice on agriculture, village life, and the relationship between town and country.