W. R. S. Ralston (1828-89): scholarship and scandal in the British Museum
Name
article13_nSGl2Tu.pdf
Description
visibility:open
Size
14.23 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (CRC64NVME)
YuQawOZC4Ow=
Resource type
Journal article
Creator (person)
McCrimmon, Barbara
Date published
November 1988
Abstract
ONE of the best-known members of staff in the British Museum in the late 1860s and early 1870s was William Ralston Shedden Ralston, an expert on Russian life and literature who was both a translator for, and a friend of, Ivan Turgenev. Ralston was respected in the Museum for his linguistic ability, unusual for his day, and most useful for the cataloguing of the Slavonic books in the collections. He was known outside the Museum as a lecturer on Russian history and literature, and a raconteur of Russian folk-tales, for both public and private audiences. He could have continued in a distinguished career if he had not let his temper overcome his better judgement by allowing an East-European friend to take advantage of him to make a strong public protest about the administration of the Museum. This resulted in his abrupt departure from his place of employment and a cloud on his good name.
Journal title
British Library Journal
Volume
14
Issue
2
Publisher
British Library
Place of publication
UK
ISSN
0305-5167
eISSN
2056-2829
Official URL
Related URL
Rights statement
In Copyright
DOI