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Jessie Margaret Edmondston Saxby (30 June 1842 – 27 December 1940) was an author and folklorist from
Unst Unst (; sco, Unst; nrn, Ønst) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of . Unst ...
, one of the Shetland Islands of Scotland. She also had political interests and was a suffragette.


Family

Born on 30 June 1842 at Halligarth, Baltasound, on the Shetland Island of
Unst Unst (; sco, Unst; nrn, Ønst) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of . Unst ...
, Saxby's father was Laurence Edmondston, a medical doctor and naturalist; her mother was Eliza Macbrair (1801–1869), a journalist and published author from a Glasgow family. The couple had ten other children including
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
, a botanist. By her own admission, Saxby received little formal education. Henry Saxby, a London born ornithologist and doctor, became Saxby's husband on 16 December 1859. The couple had six children but their only daughter died when an infant. They lived on Unst and Henry was a partner in his father-in-law's medical practice until 1871 when poor health necessitated a move to Edinburgh. The following year, in 1872, the family re-located to
Inveraray Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Arg ...
but Henry died aged 37 on 4 September 1873. As a widow with a family to support, Jessie had to rely on the income from her writing and returned to Edinburgh for 17 years before finally moving back to Unst in 1890.
Thomas Edmondston Saxby Dr. Thomas Edmondston Saxby, Esq. F.R.F.P.S.: Fellow of the Royal Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons; also: L.R.C.P. & S. Edin. (License of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Edinburgh): (1869-1952) was a Scottish medical doctor, work ...
(1869-1952), also a physician who lived and worked at Halligarth, and an ornithologist, was their son.


Career

Saxby's career started in the 1860s when several of her tales and some poetry were printed. ''Lichens from the Old Rock'', a poetry book, was published in 1868, the first of the 47 books she authored. The subject matter of her books was varied, covering diverse topics such as romantic fiction, folklore but particularly boys adventure stories. She also wrote around 100 articles that were printed in newspapers, journals and magazines like '' Life and Work'' and ''
The Boy's Own Paper ''The Boy's Own Paper'' was a British story paper aimed at young and teenage boys, published from 1879 to 1967. Publishing history The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the Religious Tract Society, as a means to encourage yo ...
''. →Jessie Saxby wrote an appreciation of the life of Dr Joseph Bell, who is known as the prototype for Sherlock Holmes, as well as for his distinguished medical career. Her book is titled "Joseph Bell...an appreciation by an old friend", and it was published by Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier in 1913. At the end of the book, Jessie signs her name, Jessie M.E.Saxby, and it follows these words: "As he had lived, Joe Bell died, brave, self-forgetful, upheld by the Divine...I shall not see his like again." ee the book mentioned in this text for authentication��


Bibliography

* * * * ::Some of the articles in this book were previously published in magazines like ''
Chamber's Journal ''Chambers's Edinburgh Journal'' was a weekly 16-page magazine started by William Chambers (publisher), William Chambers in 1832. The first edition was dated 4 February 1832, and priced at Penny (British pre-decimal coin), one penny. Topics incl ...
'' and '' The Leisure Hour''. The texts, alternately written by Jessie Saxby and her brother, are in part reminiscences of their life as children on Unst, and about their father and grandfather. According to a 1979 bibliographic survey the book is "one of the finest of the older works on Shetland." (here the spelling of the name is 'Edmonston') * * * ::With notes on the folk-lore of the Raven and the Owl, by
William Alexander Clouston William Alexander Clouston (1843 – 23 October 1896) was a Scottish 19th century folklorist from Orkney.1842 births 1940 deaths Scottish folklorists Women folklorists Shetland writers People from Unst