Life in the Crescent: Residents and Restorations

Mertonian and literary historian, George Saintsbury (1863) is featured in Life in the Crescent: Residents and Restorations, a new exhibition at No. 1 Royal Crescent in Bath. The exhibition provides a snapshot of how life on this most celebrated of Georgian terraces has changed over the years. Saintsbury was chosen as the 'key resident' for the 20th century and objects lent by the College - including some of his literary works and his pen - will help visitors to understand more about his influence on the literary world at this time.

George Saintsbury was a postmaster in classics at Merton from 1863-67. He was a prolific writer and journalist and Regius Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at Edinburgh. He is best known today for his Notes on a Cellar-Book (1920). He retired to Bath, living in comfortable rooms at No. 1 Bath Place from 1915 until his death in 1933. His essay 'On Dullness' was included in the first issue of T S Eliot's journal The Criterion in 1922, and Merton has lent the manuscript of this essay, Saintsbury's pen and a copy of the first issue to the exhibition.