Claire Lamont (29 January 1942 – 9 April 2023) was a British academic who was Emeritus Professor of English literature at

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

and a specialist in the oeuvres of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

and

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

. She was a winner of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

Rose Mary Crawshay Prize The Rose Mary Crawshay Prize is a literary prize for female scholars, inaugurated in 1888 by the British Academy. Description The prize, set up in 1888, is said by the British Academy to be the only UK literary prize specifically for female sc ...

in 1983.

Life

Claire Lamont was born in London on 29 January 1942. Her maternal grandfather, Sir Edward Appleton, was the Principal of

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

(1949-65). She attended Esdaile's (The Ministers' Daughters' College) in Edinburgh, and read English at Edinburgh University. She took up a research role at

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

followed by a graduate studentship at

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College (full name = Principal and Council of St. Hilda's College, Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon saint Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a ...

, where she researched the literary papers of the Fraser Tytler family from Invernesshire. She worked at an antiquarian bookseller in London, then became a Junior Research Fellow at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The colle ...

, matriculating in 1969. In 1971, Lamont joined Newcastle University as a lecturer in English literature.

Academic work

Lamont discovered a manuscript by William Collins titled ''Popular Superstitions Ode'' in 1967. In 1970, Lamont edited and published Jane Austen's ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' ( working title; ''Elinor and Marianne'') is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously: ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might h ...

'' as part of an Oxford University series of English novels. Her introduction was well-received as ''elegantly written'', though her ''traditional, correct and unexceptionable'' account of the novel was criticised for not addressing its true import, namely the clash between

Marianne Dashwood Marianne Dashwood (eventually Marianne Brandon) is a fictional character in Jane Austen's 1811 novel ''Sense and Sensibility''. The 16-year-old second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dashwood, she mostly embodies the "sensibility" of the title, a ...

and her social suffocation by her sister and others. At Somerville, Lamont was supervised by

Mary Lascelles Mary Madge Lascelles (7 February 1900 – 10 December 1995) was a British literary scholar, specialising in Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, and Walter Scott. She was vice-principal of Somerville College, Oxford, from 1947 to 1960, and ...

. She prepared a new edition of

's '' Waverley'', which was published in 1981. Based on Scott's first edition rather than the later ''Magnum Opus'' edition, her work, the first by a modern editor, was called a ''foundational'' edition. The

Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels The Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels by Walter Scott appeared in thirty volumes between 1993 and 2012. Published by Edinburgh University Press, it was the first complete critical edition of the novels. History On 22 June 1983 Archie Turnbul ...

, work on which began in 1984 and continued until the publication in 2012 of the last two volumes in the series, was co-edited by Lamont.

Death

Lamont died from complications of vascular dementia on 9 April 2023, at the age of 81.

Honours

For her edition of ''Waverley'', Lamont received the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize in 1983. She became a Fellow of the English Association of the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

in 2004. She was an Honorary Fellow of the

Association for Scottish Literary Studies The Association for Scottish Literary Studies (ASLS) is a Scottish educational charitable organization, charity, founded in 1970 to promote and support the teaching, study and writing of Scottish literature. Its founding members included the Sco ...

. In 2011–2012 she was President of the Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott Club.

Selected publications

* * * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamont, Claire 1942 births 2023 deaths Academics from London Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of Newcastle University Rose Mary Crawshay Prize winners Fellows of Somerville College, Oxford British academics of English literature Walter Scott scholars Jane Austen scholars