author
John Oliver Wardrop
1864–1948
A British diplomat, traveler, and translator, he became one of the English-speaking world’s most devoted interpreters of Georgia and its literature. His writing grew out of first-hand journeys and helped build lasting interest in Kartvelian studies at Oxford.
1 Audiobook
The Kingdom of Georgia: Notes of travel in a land of women, wine, and song
by John Oliver Wardrop
About the author
Born in 1864 and later known as Sir Oliver Wardrop, he was a British diplomat, traveller, and translator whose name is closely tied to Georgia. After visiting the country in 1887, he wrote The Kingdom of Georgia the following year, beginning a lifelong effort to introduce Georgian history and culture to English readers.
Wardrop also served in public office, most notably as the United Kingdom’s first Chief Commissioner of Transcaucasia in 1919–1920. Alongside his diplomatic work, he translated and promoted Georgian literature, and his scholarly interests helped establish Kartvelian studies at Oxford.
His legacy continued through the Wardrop Collection at the Bodleian Libraries, built from materials gathered by him and his sister Marjory Wardrop, herself an important translator of Georgian literature. He died in 1948, but he remains remembered as a key bridge between Britain and Georgia.