Bayle St. John
Encyclopedia
Bayle St. John was a British travel writer and biographer, one of four sons of James Augustus St. John
, all of whom went on to become journalists and authors of some literary distinction. Bayle St. John began contributing to periodicals when only thirteen, and when twenty he wrote a series of papers for Fraser under the title De re vehiculari, or a Comic History of Chariots. To the same magazine he contributed a series of essays on Montaigne, and in 1857 he published Montaigne the Essayist, a Biography, in four volumes.
During a residence of two years in Egypt he wrote The Libyan Desert (1849), and while in Egypt he learnt Arabic
and visited the oasis
of Siwa
. On his return he settled for some time in Paris and published Two Years in a Levantine Family (1850) and Views in the Oasis of Siwah (1850). After a second visit to the East he published Village Life in Egypt (1852); Purple Tints of Paris; Characters and Manners in the New Empire (1854); The Louvre
, or Biography of a Museum (1855); The Subalpine Kingdom, or Experiences and Studies in Savoy
(1856); Travels of an Arab Merchant in the Soudan
(1854); Maretimo, a Story of Adventure (1856); and Memoirs of the Duke of Saint-Simon in the Reign of Louis XIV (four vols., 1857).
He died in 1859, leaving a widow and two sons, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery
, London.
James Augustus St. John
James Augustus St. John , was a British author and traveller. He was born in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the son of Gelly John, shoemaker. He recorded that he received instruction from a local clergyman, eventually mastering the classics, and acquiring proficiency in French, Italian,...
, all of whom went on to become journalists and authors of some literary distinction. Bayle St. John began contributing to periodicals when only thirteen, and when twenty he wrote a series of papers for Fraser under the title De re vehiculari, or a Comic History of Chariots. To the same magazine he contributed a series of essays on Montaigne, and in 1857 he published Montaigne the Essayist, a Biography, in four volumes.
During a residence of two years in Egypt he wrote The Libyan Desert (1849), and while in Egypt he learnt Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and visited the oasis
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
of Siwa
Siwa
Siwa may refer to:* 140 Siwa, an asteroid* Siwa, Indonesian pronunciation of the Hindu god Shiva* Siwa , spider genus in the Araneidae family* Siwa Oasis, an oasis in Egypt* Siwa, Panchthar, a Village Development Committee in Nepal...
. On his return he settled for some time in Paris and published Two Years in a Levantine Family (1850) and Views in the Oasis of Siwah (1850). After a second visit to the East he published Village Life in Egypt (1852); Purple Tints of Paris; Characters and Manners in the New Empire (1854); The Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, or Biography of a Museum (1855); The Subalpine Kingdom, or Experiences and Studies in Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
(1856); Travels of an Arab Merchant in the Soudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
(1854); Maretimo, a Story of Adventure (1856); and Memoirs of the Duke of Saint-Simon in the Reign of Louis XIV (four vols., 1857).
He died in 1859, leaving a widow and two sons, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...
, London.
External links
- Adventures in the Libyan desert and the oasis of Jupiter Ammon, Bayle St. John, 1849, (John Murray, London)
- Bayle St. John's Memoirs of Louis XIV at Project Guttenberg
- Bayle's memorial at Kensal Green Cemetery