Edgar Allison Peers
Encyclopedia
Edgar Allison Peers also known by his pseudonym Bruce Truscot, was an English
Hispanist
and education
ist. He was Professor in Hispanic Studies at the University of Liverpool
and is notable for founding the Modern Humanities Research Association
(in 1918) and the Bulletin of Hispanic Studies (in 1934).
As "Bruce Truscot", a pseudonym kept secret until his death, Peers wrote three books offering a critical critique of the policies and problems associated with British universities, coining the term "red-brick university
".
He was educated at Dartford Grammar School
and Christ's College, Cambridge
, where he was a scholar and prizeman. In 1910 he gained a second-class honours BA
in English and French, an external degree of the University of London
, and in 1912 he took a first in the medieval and modern languages tripos at Cambridge. Obtaining a teacher's diploma (first class with double distinction) from Cambridge in 1913, Peers taught modern languages at Mill Hill School
, Felsted School
, Essex and then at Wellington College
. In 1920, he became a lecturer in Spanish at the University of Liverpool
and in 1922 was appointed to the Gilmour Chair of Spanish at the University, where he remained for the rest of his life.
At Liverpool, Peers lectured and published prolifically in Spanish Studies, attending conferences and visiting schools. His most important research was conducted in the fields of 19th century Romanticism
and 16th century mysticism in Spain
: a number of his critical works were translated into Spanish and republished in Spain. In 1923, he founded a quarterly journal, the Bulletin of Spanish Studies (which became the Bulletin of Hispanic Studies from 1949), a publication of which he was editor until his death. He also founded the Institute of Hispanic Studies at Liverpool in 1934.
Peers was married, on 19 March 1924, to Marion Young. They had no children.
Peers died of heart failure, on 21 December 1952, at the David Lewis Northern Hospital in Liverpool
.
Peers had a keen interest in, and strong views about the aims and methods of higher education. In 1943 he published a (first part) rhetorical work, Redbrick University, a controversial and influential book, which argued in favour of the primacy of research over teaching in universities. The fictional Redbrick University of the title is a cipher for the modern, civic universities (like his own institution, Liverpool), whose buildings were Victorian-built
and often of red brick. The term he coined came to be applied to any British university founded in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.
The work being of a controversial nature, Peers wrote it under the pseudonym "Bruce Truscot" and kept the true identity of the author a secret. His authorship was only revealed after his death, in 1952. Redbrick University was followed by two sequels, Redbrick and these Vital Days (1945), and First Year at the University (1946), which continued the theme.
(in three volumes, 1934-5) and St Teresa of Ávila
(five volumes in total, including her Letters, 1946-51), as well as translations and a 1929 biography of Ramon Llull
. Other significant works include:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Hispanist
Hispanist
A Hispanist is a scholar specialising in Hispanic studies, that is Spanish or Portuguese language, literature, linguistics, or civilization, and by extension, Basque, Catalan and Galician....
and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
ist. He was Professor in Hispanic Studies at the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
and is notable for founding the Modern Humanities Research Association
Modern Humanities Research Association
The Modern Humanities Research Association is a British-based international organization that aims to encourage and promote advanced study and research of humanities. It is most notable for producing the MHRA Style Guide....
(in 1918) and the Bulletin of Hispanic Studies (in 1934).
As "Bruce Truscot", a pseudonym kept secret until his death, Peers wrote three books offering a critical critique of the policies and problems associated with British universities, coining the term "red-brick university
Red Brick universities
Red brick university is an informal term used to refer to six particular universities founded in the major industrial cities of England. Five of the six red brick institutions gained university status before World War I and were initially established as civic science and/or engineering colleges...
".
Biography
Peers was born on 7 May 1891 at Leighton Buzzard, the son of John Thomas Peers, a civil servant, and his wife, Jessie Dale, daughter of Charles Allison.He was educated at Dartford Grammar School
Dartford Grammar School
Dartford Grammar School is a selective secondary foundation school for boys in Dartford, Kent, England, which admits girls to its sixth form . All of the students joining the school are from the top 25% of the ability range...
and Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, where he was a scholar and prizeman. In 1910 he gained a second-class honours BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English and French, an external degree of the University of London
University of London External Programme
The University of London International Programmes is a division of the University of London that manages external study programmes.Several colleges and institutes of the University of London offer degrees through the programme, including Birkbeck, Goldsmiths, Heythrop College, Institute of...
, and in 1912 he took a first in the medieval and modern languages tripos at Cambridge. Obtaining a teacher's diploma (first class with double distinction) from Cambridge in 1913, Peers taught modern languages at Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School, in Mill Hill, London, is a coeducational independent school for boarding and day pupils aged 13–18. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, an organisation of public schools in the United Kingdom....
, Felsted School
Felsted School
Felsted School, an English co-educational day and boarding independent school, situated in Felsted, Essex. It is in the British Public School tradition, and was founded in 1564 by Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich who, as Lord Chancellor and Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, acquired...
, Essex and then at Wellington College
Wellington College, Berkshire
-Former pupils:Notable former pupils include historian P. J. Marshall, architect Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, impressionist Rory Bremner, Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, author Sebastian Faulks, language school pioneer John Haycraft, political journalist Robin Oakley, actor Sir Christopher...
. In 1920, he became a lecturer in Spanish at the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
and in 1922 was appointed to the Gilmour Chair of Spanish at the University, where he remained for the rest of his life.
At Liverpool, Peers lectured and published prolifically in Spanish Studies, attending conferences and visiting schools. His most important research was conducted in the fields of 19th century Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
and 16th century mysticism in Spain
Spanish mystics
The Spanish Mystics are major figures in the Catholic Reformation of 16th and 17th century Spain. The goal of this movement was to reform the Church structurally and to renew it spiritually...
: a number of his critical works were translated into Spanish and republished in Spain. In 1923, he founded a quarterly journal, the Bulletin of Spanish Studies (which became the Bulletin of Hispanic Studies from 1949), a publication of which he was editor until his death. He also founded the Institute of Hispanic Studies at Liverpool in 1934.
Peers was married, on 19 March 1924, to Marion Young. They had no children.
Peers died of heart failure, on 21 December 1952, at the David Lewis Northern Hospital in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Bruce Truscot
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and often of red brick. The term he coined came to be applied to any British university founded in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.
The work being of a controversial nature, Peers wrote it under the pseudonym "Bruce Truscot" and kept the true identity of the author a secret. His authorship was only revealed after his death, in 1952. Redbrick University was followed by two sequels, Redbrick and these Vital Days (1945), and First Year at the University (1946), which continued the theme.
Selected works
Peers published a number of translations of Spanish works, including the complete writings of St John of the CrossJohn of the Cross
John of the Cross , born Juan de Yepes Álvarez, was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest, born at Fontiveros, Old Castile....
(in three volumes, 1934-5) and St Teresa of Ávila
Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...
(five volumes in total, including her Letters, 1946-51), as well as translations and a 1929 biography of Ramon Llull
Ramon Llull
Ramon Llull was a Majorcan writer and philosopher, logician and tertiary Franciscan. He wrote the first major work of Catalan literature. Recently-surfaced manuscripts show him to have anticipated by several centuries prominent work on elections theory...
. Other significant works include:
- Elizabethan Drama and its Mad Folk (1914)
- The Origins of French Romanticism (1920, with M. B. Finch)
- Studies of the Spanish Mystics (1927–30, 2 volumes)
- Spain, a Companion to Spanish Studies (1929)
- Spain, a Companion to Spanish Travel (1930)
- The Pyrenees, French and Spanish (1932)
- The Spanish Tragedy (1936)
- Catalonia infelix (1937)
- A Handbook to the Study and Teaching of Spanish (1938)
- Spain, the Church and the Orders (1939)
- History of the Romantic Movement in Spain (1940, 2 volumes)
- The Spanish Dilemma (1940)
- Spain in Eclipse (1943)
- A Critical Anthology of Spanish Verse (1948)
Pseudonymously-published works
- Redbrick University 1943 [first part, second part in 1945 and the whole work was published in Pelican Books 1951 (A 230); Note by Robert Barron 1. from www.radiounam.unam.mx]
- Redbrick and these Vital Days (1945)
- First Year at the University (1946)
Further reading
- Redbrick University revisited: the autobiography of Bruce Truscot (30 November 1996, Liverpool University Press, ISBN 0853232598; edited by Ann L. Mackenzie and Adrian R. Allan.)