W. A. (William Alexander) Clouston

Born in Stromness, Orkney, in 1843, William Alexander Clouston left commercial work in Glasgow and London and turned instead to journalism and literary work. Contemporary reference material describes him as contributing to Scottish newspapers including the Glasgow Herald and the Evening Times, while building a reputation as a patient and wide-ranging scholar of traditional storytelling.

Clouston is best remembered as a folklorist with a strong interest in Oriental fiction and folklore. He wrote and edited books such as Popular Tales and Fictions, The Book of Noodles, Book of Wise Sayings, and Flowers from a Persian Garden, and he also supplied analogues and variants for Richard F. Burton's Supplemental Arabian Nights. His work stood out for showing connections between stories from the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe in a way that was both learned and readable.

He died on October 23, 1896. Although not as widely known today as some literary figures of his time, his writing remains valuable for readers interested in folktales, proverb literature, and the long journeys stories make between languages and cultures.