Joseph Donaldson

Born in Glasgow in 1794, Joseph Donaldson was the son of a man employed by a mercantile house. As a boy he briefly ran away to sea, then in 1809 enlisted in the army and joined the 94th Regiment. He served in the Peninsular War, where years of marching, fighting, illness, and privation gave him the experience that would later shape his writing.

After leaving the army, Donaldson married in Lisbon and returned to Glasgow. He published Scenes and Sketches in Ireland and later sought work in civilian life, but with little success. He then joined the East India Company's service as a recruiting sergeant, working in London and Glasgow.

Donaldson is best remembered for Recollections of the Eventful Life of a Soldier, a memoir valued for its direct, observant picture of an ordinary soldier's world rather than a hero's legend. He died in 1830, apparently by his own hand, after a period of deep distress, and his book was published after his death.