Saintsbury, George

Saintsbury, George (Edward Bateman)

(born Oct. 23, 1845, Southampton, Hampshire, Eng.—died Jan. 28, 1933, Bath, Somerset) English literary historian and critic. When the school at which he was teaching failed in 1876, he decided to write for a living. He produced several successful volumes of criticism of French literature and extensive writings on English literature. Though he formulated no philosophy of criticism, his works were influential because they combined authoritative scholarship with the popular appeal of entertaining prose. They include A History of Criticism and Literary Taste in Europe from the Earliest Texts to the Present Day (1900–04), one of the first surveys of critical literary theory and practice.