Who is Andrew Lang?

Andrew Gabriel Lang was born on March 31, 1844 in the Scottish Borderland of Selkirk – a land rich in history and imagination, housing tales such as Robert the Bruce. He was the oldest of eight children born to Jane Plenderleath Sellar and John Lang. From an early age, Lang was passionate about the nature and spent the majority of his time fishing in local streams. When he wasn’t running a muck in the outdoors, he was reading, escaping into a fairytale. He is said to have read the Grimm’s tales, and works of Shakespeare and Madame d’Aulnoy. It is through these tales where Lang drew his inspiration, turning a childhood pastime into a respectable career path.

Lang started his education at Selkirk Grammar School and later moved on to Edinburgh Academy. After Edinburgh, Lang attended the University of St. Andrews  where he excelled and the University now hosts a series of lectures in his honour each year. Lang also attended Balliol College, Oxford. At the age of 31, Lang was already an established poet and scholar. In 1875, he decided to move to London to pursue a career in journalism. Known for his sardonic writing style and dry wit, Lang became a popular editor and journalist earning positions as places like The Daily Post, Time magazine and Fortnightly Review.

            In 1857, the same year he arrived in London, Lang met and married a woman by the name of Leonore Blanche Alleyne. They had no children but did travel throughout Europe, taking a fancy to France and Italy. On July 20, 1912 at the age of 68, Lang passed away in Aberdeen, Scotland.

 

**All background information was gathered from external websites. Please see Works Cited  for details.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *