Donald Adamson, JP (30 March 1939 – 18 January 2024), was a British literary scholar and historian.1
Adamson wrote books including Blaise Pascal: Mathematician, Physicist, and Thinker about God2 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
Adamson was born at Culcheth in Lancashire to a farming family. His grandfather died when Adamson was two years old, so the family moved to the family farm overlooking the Bridgewater Canal in Lymm, Cheshire. His maternal uncle, and godfather, was Gerald Loxley.5 His father's family was of Scottish extraction, and a distant cousin was 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 Malcolm Pasley, graduating in 1959, proceeding in 1963. He won the Zaharoff Travelling Scholar Prize of the for 1959–60, thereafter studying at the , being tutored by . In 1962 he took the degree of , proceeding ; his for the degree of (), entitled "Balzac and the Visual Arts", was supervised by of .
This page is based on “Donald Adamson” from English Wikipedia, (r1372531562) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
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. Adamson 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
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 Pascal's 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 FrenchRomanticism, 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 of London 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,2728 as have his recollections of Sir William Golding.29
Philosophy of literature
According to Adamson, literature does not need to fulfil any social mission or purpose;30 yet, as with Émile Zola (in Germinal) 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".31 This means that they convey some sort of philosophy of the world (in Arnold's words, "How to live"3233), though some writers, such as Adalbert Stifter (in Motley Stones) and Jane Austen 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;34 not essentially seeking to convince by mathematics;35 and foreshadowing Søren Kierkegaard36 and 20th-century existentialism37 in its appeal to human experience.
Adamson wrote an account of his own life, including his friendship with A.L. Rowse, with excerpts of the latter's correspondence.40 Adamson wrote eleven books as well as numerous articles.
"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." ↩
Meeting A.L. Rowse, "The Cornish Banner". February 2012. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010. ↩
Frank Heath, Artist of Polperro and Lamorna, "The Cornish Banner". February 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010. ↩
Belonging to the Curriers' Company, "The Cornish Banner". February 2014. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010. ↩
Master of the Curriers' Company, "The Cornish Banner". May 2014. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010. ↩
Donald Adamson, JP (30 March 1939 – 18 January 2024), was a British literary scholar and historian.1
Adamson wrote books including Blaise Pascal: Mathematician, Physicist, and Thinker about God2 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
Adamson was born at Culcheth in Lancashire to a farming family. His grandfather died when Adamson was two years old, so the family moved to the family farm overlooking the Bridgewater Canal in Lymm, Cheshire. His maternal uncle, and godfather, was Gerald Loxley.5 His father's family was of Scottish extraction, and a distant cousin was 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 and , graduating in 1959, proceeding in 1963. He won the Zaharoff Travelling Scholar Prize of the for 1959–60, thereafter studying at the , being tutored by . In 1962 he took the degree of , proceeding ; his for the degree of (), entitled "Balzac and the Visual Arts", was supervised by of .
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. Adamson 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
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 Pascal's 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 FrenchRomanticism, 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 of London 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,2728 as have his recollections of Sir William Golding.29
Philosophy of literature
According to Adamson, literature does not need to fulfil any social mission or purpose;30 yet, as with Émile Zola (in Germinal) 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".31 This means that they convey some sort of philosophy of the world (in Arnold's words, "How to live"3233), though some writers, such as Adalbert Stifter (in Motley Stones) and Jane Austen 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;34 not essentially seeking to convince by mathematics;35 and foreshadowing Søren Kierkegaard36 and 20th-century existentialism37 in its appeal to human experience.
Adamson wrote an account of his own life, including his friendship with A.L. Rowse, with excerpts of the latter's correspondence.40 Adamson wrote eleven books as well as numerous articles.
"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." ↩
Meeting A.L. Rowse, "The Cornish Banner". February 2012. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010. ↩
Frank Heath, Artist of Polperro and Lamorna, "The Cornish Banner". February 2013. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010. ↩
Belonging to the Curriers' Company, "The Cornish Banner". February 2014. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010. ↩
Master of the Curriers' Company, "The Cornish Banner". May 2014. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010. ↩