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Donald Adamson

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Donald Adamson
Born(1939-03-30)30 March 1939
Culcheth, Lancashire, England
Died18 January 2024(2024-01-18) (aged 84)
Polperro, Cornwall, England
OccupationAuthor and historian
Alma materMagdalen College, Oxford
GenreLiterary romanticism
SubjectHistory of literature, philosophy and biography
Notable worksBlaise Pascal: Mathematician, Physicist, and Thinker about God
SpouseHelen née Griffiths (m. 1966)
Children2 sons
Website
www.dodmore.uk

Donald Adamson, JP (30 March 1939 – 18 January 2024), was a British literary scholar and historian.[1]

Books which he wrote include Blaise Pascal: Mathematician, Physicist, and Thinker about God[2] and Balzac and the Tradition of the European Novel, as well as The Curriers' Company: A Modern History.[3] Adamson's works are regarded as a gateway to European literature.[4]

Biography

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Born at Culcheth in Lancashire to a farming family, his grandfather in Lymm died when he was two years old, so they moved to the Booth family farm overlooking the Bridgewater Canal in Cheshire. His maternal uncle, and godfather, was Major Gerald Loxley.[5] His father's family was of Scottish extraction, and a distant cousin was Mgr Thomas Adamson.[6]

From 1949 to 1956 he attended Manchester Grammar School where he was taught by, amongst others, Eric James (later Lord James of Rusholme). He became a scholar of Magdalen College, Oxford, and was tutored by Austin Gill and Sir Malcolm Pasley, graduating BA in 1959, proceeding MA in 1963. He won the Zaharoff Travelling Scholar Prize of the University of Oxford for 1959–60, thereafter studying at the Paris-Sorbonne University, being tutored by Pierre-Georges Castex. In 1962 he took the degree of BLitt, proceeding Master of Letters (MLitt); his thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil), entitled "Balzac and the Visual Arts", was supervised by Jean Seznec of All Souls College, Oxford.[7]

Adamson spent much of his teaching career at London University, although he taught at Manchester Grammar School from 1962 to 1964 and then at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand from 1964 to 1965. He taught at St George's Church of England School, Gravesend in 1968.[8]

In 1969 he joined Goldsmiths' College, where his teaching did much to enhance the University of London's standing throughout French academic circles. In 1971 he was appointed a Recognised Teacher in the Faculty of Arts of the University of London and, in 1972, a member of its Faculty of Education, holding both appointments until 1989. He served as Chairman of the Board of Examiners at London University from 1983 until 1986, attracting candidates for undergraduate degrees including external students from the UK, Europe and Asia. In 2021 he was awarded Hon FCIL.[9]

In 1989 he was elected a Visiting Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, being a promoter in the fields of public policy on the arts, libraries and museums.[10] By speaking, writing and, through the Bow Group, submitting (with Sir John Hannam MP) written and oral evidence to a Parliamentary select committee,[11] he helped to establish the National Heritage Memorial Fund. Adamson was a member of the judging committee of the Museum of the Year Awards from 1979 to 1983, before donating to the National Library of Wales and the National Library of Malta.[12]

Joining the Order of St John in 1981, he became Deputy Director of Ceremonies of the Priory of England and the Islands (the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) serving until 2008.[13]

From 19 October 2012 until 11 October 2013 Adamson served as Master of the Worshipful Company of Curriers of the City of London, then as Senior Court Assistant from 2015, before being awarded Honorary Court Assistantship in 2023. During his term as Master Currier he endowed The Curriers' Company London History Essay Prize,[14] which is competed for annually by young graduates of British universities;[15] winning essays being published in The London Journal, he stepped down from executive oversight in 2021.[16] Adamson also established sixteen annual prizes in mathematics and history for pupils aged 14 to 15 at four London academies.[17] In 1976 Adamson became a liveryman of the Haberdashers' Company.[18]

His personal interests included the history of religion and genealogy.[19] He was also an enthusiastic art collector, mainly of Western European art, including a work of Eugène Isabey, and drawings of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Adamson contributed much on the history of Cornwall and died suddenly in Polperro on 18 January 2024, at the age of 84.[20] A service in his memory was held on 15 April 2024 at the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London.[21] He and his wife divided their time between homes in Kent and Polperro, Cornwall.[22]

Scope of his writing

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The Genesis of Le Cousin Pons, substantially the text of Adamson's (BLitt) thesis,[23] is a detailed study of the manuscript and proof-sheets of this very late work. Tracing the progress of the novel through its various editions, it reveals the full extent of Balzac's improvisation from novella to full-length masterpiece.

Illusions Perdues, a critical study of what is Balzac's most mature work, outlines its strong autobiographical element, analysing contrasts of Paris and the provinces, the purity of the artist's life and the corruptions of journalism, and the ambiguity of Balzac's narrative outlook. Major themes of the book are that in "fiction" is truth and in "truth" fiction, and that Illusions Perdues is the first novel by any writer to highlight the shaping of public opinion by the media, usually done in the pursuit of power or money.[24]

Blaise Pascal considers its subject from biographical, theological, religious and mathematical points of view, including the standpoint of physics. There is a chapter on the argument of the Wager. The analysis is slightly inclined in a secular direction, giving greater emphasis to Pascal's concern with the contradictions of human nature, and rather less to his deep and traditional preoccupation with Original Sin. Since writing this book, Adamson has produced further work on Pascal's mathematical comprehension of God.[25]

His historical writings fall into three categories: a monograph on Spanish art and French Romanticism, illuminating the opening-up of Spain and Spanish art to travellers from France and other parts of Western Europe, and to enthusiasts in those countries; articles on manorial and banking history; and, the modern workings of a City livery company. Adamson has also written on travel in England and Wales in the 18th century.[26]

Adamson's study of one year in the life of the celebrated artist Oskar Kokoschka has been published to critical acclaim,[27][28] as have his recollections of Sir William Golding.[29]

Philosophy of literature

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According to Adamson, literature does not need to fulfil any social mission or purpose;[30] yet, as with Émile Zola[31] or D. H. Lawrence, there is every reason why it can highlight social evils. A novel or novella – or a biography – is not merely an absorbing story: in Matthew Arnold's words, the best prose is, like poetry, "a criticism of life".[32] This means that they convey some sort of philosophy of the world (in Arnold's words, "How to live"[33][34]), though some writers, such as Adalbert Stifter[35] and Jane Austen (to whom, incidentally, he is related through his mother[36] do this less than most others, whilst on the other hand Samuel Beckett conveys a profoundly negative philosophy of life.

All too often, in Adamson's view, people go through their lives without living or seeking any belief which, for him, is the supreme attractiveness of Blaise Pascal, whose philosophy was of a unique kind: grounded in the vagaries of human nature;[37] not essentially seeking to convince by mathematics;[38] and foreshadowing Søren Kierkegaard[39] and 20th-century existentialism[40] in its appeal to human experience.

Honours and awards

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Arms

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Coat of arms of Donald Adamson
Crest
A Wyvern Azure armed and langued Or in its mouth a Sprig of Laurel Vert
Helm
That of an Esquire
Escutcheon
Quarterly, 1st, Vert on a Chevron Argent three Crosses-crosslet fitchées Gules between three Billets Or each charged with a Boar’s Head erect and erased Sable (for Adamson); 2nd, Argent three Boars’ Heads erect and erased Sable langued Gules (for Booth); 3rd, Or a Lion rampant Gules (for Leigh); 4th, Argent a Lion rampant Gules between three Pheons Sable (for Egerton)
Motto
Tout par Lui, tout pour Lui
(Eng: Everything by Him, everything for Him)
Orders
Behind the Shield, the badge of St John and suspended below, by their respective ribbons, the insignia of the orders of Palmes académiques, Arts et Lettres and pro Merito Melitensi
Other elements
As Master Currier, Dr Adamson could impale the Curriers' arms (dexter) with his family arms (sinister)

Bibliography

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Within a study of the art of autobiography Adamson wrote an account of his own life, including his friendship with A.L. Rowse, with excerpts of the latter's correspondence.[43] Adamson has written eleven books as well as numerous articles.

Books
Translations
Other works

References

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  1. ^ "Common Reading: Critics, Historians, Publics".
  2. ^ "Blaise Pascal: Mathematician, Physicist, and Thinker about God". Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  3. ^ "The Curriers' Company London History Essay Prize".
  4. ^ www.lysdanslavallee.fr
  5. ^ "Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, qv. BOOTH, Bt" (PDF).
  6. ^ www.burkespeerage.com
  7. ^ www.asc.ox.ac.uk
  8. ^ www.saintgeorgescofe.kent.sch.uk
  9. ^ www.ciol.org.uk
  10. ^ Weekly Hansard, no. 1054, Pt I, cols 325–336, 25 November 1976.
  11. ^ Hansard, Expenditure Committee, Third Report, Session 1977–78, pp. 128–136, 30 November 1977.
  12. ^ www.artfund.org
  13. ^ The London Gazette, 22 July 1998, p. 7984, col. 1.
  14. ^ www.royalhistsoc.org
  15. ^ "The Curriers' Company London History Essay Prize".
  16. ^ www.thelondonjournal.org
  17. ^ "www.curriers.co.uk Oasis Academies - Curriers' Co.". Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  18. ^ "Haberdashers' Company".
  19. ^ www.westminster.gov.uk
  20. ^ "Dr Donald Adamson JP FRSL". The Daily Telegraph. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Thanksgiving Service". The Times. 17 April 2024. p. 47. Retrieved 21 April 2024. "A Service of Thanksgiving celebrating the life of Dr Donald Adamson JP FRSL was held at the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great, London EC1, on Monday 15th April 2024, led by the rector, the Revd Marcus Walker.
    The Very Revd Robert Willis, Dean Emeritus of Canterbury, gave the address and readings were given by Mr Ian Michel, Master Currier, and the Revd James Power, Past Master Haberdasher.
    Mrs Helen Adamson received, on behalf of her late husband, the insignia of l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres from Sébastien Bidaud, minister counsellor and deputy head of mission for the French Embassy to the United Kingdom.
    Alderman Gregory Jones, the Earl of Erroll, Lord Haselhurst, Lord Murray of Blidworth and Sir Charles Hoare were also present among friends and family including Lady Bingham of Cornhill, Sir Edward Leigh and Professor Mark Watson-Gandy."
  22. ^ Obituary. The Cornish Times. Hon. Jenico Preston. p. 33, 21 February 2024
  23. ^ www.bnf.fr
  24. ^ www.oxfordreference.com
  25. ^ www.vatican.va
  26. ^ www.foliosociety.com
  27. ^ Oskar Kokoschka at Polperro, "The Cornish Banner". November 2009.
  28. ^ Researching Kokoschka, "The Cornish Banner". November 2010.
  29. ^ William Golding Remembered "The Cornish Banner". February 2010.
  30. ^ Donald Adamson, Reference Guide to World Literature, 1995, vol. I, pp. 434–437, 458–460, 509–511.
  31. ^ Émile Zola, Germinal, 1885.
  32. ^ Matthew Arnold, Essays in Criticism, second series, 1888, "Wordsworth", p. 143.
  33. ^ Matthew Arnold, Essays in Criticism, second series, 1888, "Wordsworth", p. 144.
  34. ^ The Walking Penguin. "English Literature Essays". Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  35. ^ Adalbert Stifter, Bunte Steine ("Colourful Stones"), e.g., Bergkristall ("Rock Crystal"), Turmalin ("Tourmaline"), 1853.
  36. ^ www.telegraph.co.uk
  37. ^ Donald Adamson, Blaise Pascal: Mathematician, Physicist, and Thinker about God, 1995, pp. 143–160.
  38. ^ Donald Adamson, Mathematics and the Divine: A Historical Study (ed. T. Koetsier and L. Bergmans), 2005, pp. 407–421.
  39. ^ Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or, 1843.
  40. ^ Gabriel Marcel, The Mystery of Being, 1951.
  41. ^ "www.stjohnengland.org.uk". Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  42. ^ www.gov.uk
  43. ^ Donald Adamson (February 2009). "A.L. Rowse: An Appreciation". The International Literary Quarterly.
  44. ^ "www.oxfordjournals.org". Archived from the original on 26 April 2014.
  45. ^ "Blaise Pascal: Mathematician, Physicist, and Thinker about God". Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  46. ^ Balzac and the Nineteenth Century, Leicester University Press, 1972.
  47. ^ The Three Banks Review, December 1982.
  48. ^ Ideology and Literature. Essays in Honour of Brian Juden.
  49. ^ L'Année Balzacienne, 1992.
  50. ^ St John in Cornwall, "The Cornish Banner". August 2011. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  51. ^ Meeting A.L. Rowse, "The Cornish Banner". February 2012. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  52. ^ Frank Heath, Artist of Polperro and Lamorna, "The Cornish Banner". February 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  53. ^ Belonging to the Curriers' Company, "The Cornish Banner". February 2014. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  54. ^ Master of the Curriers' Company, "The Cornish Banner". May 2014. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  55. ^ Master of the Curriers' Company, "The Cornish Banner". August 2014.
  56. ^ Rowse and Trevor-Roper defined, "The Cornish Banner". August 2014. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  57. ^ Malta, its Knights and Grand Masters, "The Cornish Banner". November 2014. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  58. ^ Malta, its Knights and Grand Masters, "The Cornish Banner". February 2015.
  59. ^ In Memoriam: Raleigh Trevelyan, "The Cornish Banner". May 2015.
  60. ^ Cyprus: An Essay, "The Cornish Banner". August 2015.
  61. ^ Serendipity, "The Cornish Banner". November 2015.
  62. ^ A Visit to Venice, "The Cornish Banner". February 2016.
  63. ^ A Visit to Provence and Languedoc, "The Cornish Banner". August 2016.
  64. ^ The Godolphins, "The Cornish Banner". November 2016.
  65. ^ The Godolphins, "The Cornish Banner". February 2017.
  66. ^ Elba, "The Cornish Banner". August 2017.
  67. ^ Elba, "The Cornish Banner". November 2017.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donald Adamson.
Preceded by
Oxford University
Zaharoff Prize
1959 - 1960 		Succeeded by
William Bell
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