Eve Blantyre Simpson

Eve Blantyre Simpson (15 December 1855 – 23 January 1920), sometimes credited as Evelyn Blanytre Simpson, Eva Blantyre Simpson, or E. Blantyre Simpson, was a Scottish writer, author of biographies, short stories, a book about dogs, and a book on the folklore of lowland Scotland.

Eve Blantyre Simpson
Photographs of Eve Blantyre Simpson in the Wellcome Library collection.
Photographs of Eve Blantyre Simpson in the Wellcome Library collection.
Born(1855-12-15)15 December 1855
Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.
Died23 January 1920(1920-01-23) (aged 64)
Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.
Occupation
  • Writer
  • historian
  • biographer
NationalityScottish
GenreBiography, folklore

Early life

Eve Blantyre Simpson was born in Edinburgh, one of the nine children of professor James Young Simpson (1811–1870) and Janet "Jessie" Grindlay Simpson (1812–1870). She was still a girl when both parents died, within a few weeks of each other, in 1870. Her father, an obstetrician, popularised the use of chloroform as an anaesthetic.[1]

Career

Simpson wrote biographies of her father[2][3] and two of her brother Walter's friend,[4][5] Robert Louis Stevenson, one a study of his early life,[6] and one a shorter work, "a flashlight biography, a nutshell appreciation."[7] She also wrote a "readable, if not authoritative"[8] book on folklore in Scotland, including the tradition of Beltane, lore about fairies, and fishermen's superstitions.[9][10] Of her book Nelson and Puck: Dogs of Other Days (1882), one London reviewer predicted that it "will no doubt be duly appreciated by those for whom it is intended, but cannot be of the slightest interest to others."[11] She also wrote short stories and articles, often about dogs, for periodicals and newspapers.[12][13][14]

Simpson toured as an author in the United States and Canada in 1899, and was described as "a devoted bicyclist" and "animated and witty".[15]

Personal life

Simpson died from liver cancer on 23 January 1920 at Edinburgh, aged 64 years. She was the last surviving member of her father's large family.[16]

Published books

References
  1. Gordon, Henry Laing (1897). Sir James Young Simpson and Chloroform (1811-1870). T. Fisher Unwin.
  2. Simpson, E. Blantyre (1896). Sir James Y. Simpson. Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier – via HathiTrust.
  3. Stokes, William (1898). "Heroes of Medicine". The Practitioner. 60: 161.
  4. "Liber's Note Book". Dominion. 26 July 1913. p. 11. Retrieved 23 July 2020 – via Papers Past.
  5. "Postscript". The Academy. 55: 375. 3 December 1898.
  6. Simpson, E. Blantyre (1913). Robert Louis Stevenson's Edinburgh days. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
  7. "More About R. L. S." The Gazette Times. Pittsburgh. 18 June 1906. p. 5. Retrieved 23 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Miscellaneous". Notes and Queries. 10: 399. 14 November 1908.
  9. Simpson, E. Blantyre (1908). Folk lore in Lowland Scotland. London: J.M. Dent and company.
  10. Dickson, Nicholas; Sanderson, William (November 1908). "The Border Bookcase". The Border Magazine. 13: 209.
  11. "The Reader". The Graphic: An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper. 26 August 1882. p. 18. Retrieved 23 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Simpson, Eva Blantyre (25 December 1896). "A Collie's Christmas". The Salt Lake Herald. p. 13. Retrieved 24 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Simpson, Eve Blantyre (7 November 1900). "Chillingham Castle Magnificent English Home, and its Far Famed Herd of Cattle". The Davenport Times (Semi-weekly ed.). Davenport, Iowa. p. 7. Retrieved 24 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Bolton, Sarah Knowles (1902). Our Devoted Friend: The Dog. L. C. Page. p. 28.
  15. "Miss Eva Simpson: The Noted Scotch Woman Now Visiting Us". Beatrice Evening Times. 22 December 1899. p. 4. Retrieved 23 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "At Home". The Manchester Guardian. 26 January 1920. p. 14. Retrieved 23 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Simpson, E. Blantyre (1906). Robert Louis Stevenson. "Spirit of the Age Series", no. 2. Boston: J.W. Luce.
  18. Simpson, E. Blantyre (1912). The Robert Louis Stevenson originals. London: T.N. Foulis.
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