Man of letters

the long version

Robert Chambers' life (1802-71) is a classic rags-to-riches story. Forced to leave his school in Peebles at the age of 13 after his father was swindled and bankrupted, he set himself up as an Edinburgh bestseller with an original stock consisted of his old schoolbooks. Yet with his brother William he set up one of the largest publishing houses in the English-speaking world (W. and R. Chambers); he became a respected popular writer (with the support of Sir Walter Scott) and in 1844 published an anonymous and controversial book on evolution theory, Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. Man of Letter shows the more sensitive side to the acute businessman, weaving together his private letters and unpublished reminiscences. It describes his colourful early life in Peebles, his initial struggle in Edinburgh and his touching love-affair with nineteen-year-old Anne Kirkwood, conducting almost entirely by post. Painstakingly researched, this is a delightful human story which also gives a unique insight into nineteenth-century Scottish life. -- from back cover.