John Galt

John Galt was born in 1779 in the town of Irvine on the Ayrshire coast. Having published a Life of Cardinal Wolsey and a volume of tragedies in 1812, Galt turned to writing full-time after his marriage in 1813. His reputation as a writer of humour and subtle social observations was solidified after the publication of The Provost (1822). Ringan Gilhaize (1823), however, took a darker turn in a unique psychological and historical study of Covenanting fervour and the ‘killing times’ in the 17th century. His Life of Lord Byron (1830) was a controversial success and the novels The Member and The Radical (both 1832) took a searching look at his country’s political life. Galt died in 1839.