author
R. F. (Robert Fuller) Murray
1863–1894
A witty Victorian poet with a brief life and a sharp eye for student life, he is best remembered for verses that move easily between humor, tenderness, and melancholy. His work has a light touch, but it often carries the feeling of someone writing against limited time.
2 Audiobooks
Robert F. Murray (Author of the Scarlet Gown): His Poems; with a Memoir
by R. F. (Robert Fuller) Murray
The Scarlet Gown: Being Verses by a St. Andrews Man
by R. F. (Robert Fuller) Murray
About the author
Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on December 26, 1863, he spent most of his life in Britain after his family moved there when he was a child. He was closely associated with St Andrews, where university life became the setting for some of his best-known writing.
He wrote poetry and contributed to periodicals, and his best-known book is The Scarlet Gown, a lively set of verses about student life at St Andrews. A second collection, Robert F. Murray: His Poems, appeared after his death with a memoir by Andrew Lang, showing the high regard in which friends and fellow writers held him.
His life was short, ending in 1894, but his poems have lasted because they combine charm, intelligence, and real feeling. Even in light verse, there is often a sense of fragility beneath the wit, which gives his work an appeal beyond its period setting.