author
R. Shelton (Robert Shelton) Mackenzie
1809–1880
An Irish-born journalist and editor who built a busy literary career on both sides of the Atlantic, he was known in the 19th century for biographies, essays, editing work, and a steady stream of magazine and newspaper writing.
1 Audiobook
Bits of Blarney
by R. Shelton (Robert Shelton) Mackenzie
About the author
Born in County Limerick, Ireland, on June 22, 1809, R. Shelton Mackenzie became a writer and editor at a young age after first training for other work. He wrote under the pen name Sholto and built a reputation in Britain through journalism, literary compiling, and books including fiction and biographical work.
In 1852 he moved to the United States, where he continued his career in New York and Philadelphia. He edited newspapers and magazines, contributed widely to periodicals, and became especially associated with the kind of lively, wide-ranging literary journalism that made him a familiar name to 19th-century readers.
Mackenzie died in Philadelphia on November 30, 1880. Although he is not as widely read now, he remains an interesting figure in transatlantic literary culture: a hardworking man of letters whose career linked Irish, British, and American publishing.