Alexander Hay Japp facts for kids

Alexander Hay Japp (born December 26, 1836 – died September 29, 1905) was a Scottish writer, journalist, and publisher. He was known for his many books and articles, sometimes using different pen names.

A Look at Alexander Japp's Life

Alexander Japp was born in Dun, Angus, Scotland, on December 26, 1836. He was the youngest son of Alexander Japp, a carpenter. After his father passed away early, his mother and family moved to Montrose. There, he went to Milne's school.

When he was seventeen, Japp started working as a book-keeper for a tailor company in Edinburgh. Three years later, he moved to London. For two years, he worked in the East India department of Smith, Elder and Co., a publishing company.

After getting sick, he returned to Scotland. He worked for a hat company in Edinburgh. In his free time, from 1860 to 1861, he took classes at the university. He studied subjects like how people think and what is right or wrong. He won two prizes in writing and received a special award. However, he did not finish his degree.

In Edinburgh, Japp spent time with young artists. He then became a journalist. He worked as an editor for the Inverness Courier and the Montrose Review. In 1864, he moved back to London. He worked for The Daily Telegraph for a short time.

While writing for other newspapers, he also advised a publishing company called Alexander Strahan. He helped edit their magazines, including Good Words, Sunday Magazine, and The Contemporary Review. He also helped with a large book called Chambers's Cyclopædia of English Literature.

In October 1880, Japp started his own publishing company. It was called Marshall Japp and Co. But because of his health and not enough money, he sold the company in 1882. From 1882 to 1888, he advised another publishing company, Hurst and Blackett.

From 1884 to 1900, he lived near Colchester. There, he enjoyed studying nature. After three years in London, he finally settled in Coulsdon, Surrey, in 1903. He passed away there on September 29, 1905. He was buried in Abney Park cemetery. He received an honorary degree from Glasgow University in 1879. In 1880, he became a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Alexander Japp and Robert Louis Stevenson

Japp was very interested in the writer Henry Thoreau. This interest led him to meet Robert Louis Stevenson. They met in Braemar in August 1881. Stevenson and his father were very interested in Japp's conversations.

Stevenson read the first parts of his famous book Treasure Island to Japp. At that time, it was called The Sea Cook. Japp then helped arrange for the story to be published in a magazine called Young Folks. Stevenson and Japp wrote many letters to each other. Japp's last book, Robert Louis Stevenson: a Record, an Estimate, and a Memorial (1905), was about their friendship and Stevenson's life.

Alexander Japp's Writings

Alexander Japp was a very busy and creative writer. He wrote under his own name and also used different pen names. Some of his pen names were "H. A. Page," "A. F. Scot," "E. Conder Gray," and "A. N. Mount Rose."

In 1865, he published a book called Three Great Teachers of our own Time: Carlyle, Tennyson, and Ruskin. The famous writer John Ruskin thought it was very insightful. Japp also put together a selection of works by Thomas de Quincey. These included Posthumous Works (1891, 1893) and De Quincey Memorials (1891), which had letters and other records published for the first time.

Using the pen name "H. A. Page," he published:

• The Memoir of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1872), a book about the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne.
• An in-depth Study of Thoreau (1878), about Henry Thoreau.
• His main work, De Quincey: his Life and Writings, with Unpublished Correspondence (1877). This book shared new information about De Quincey's life.

Japp wrote in many different styles. In 1878, he published Lights on the Way under a double pen name. This book was a semi-autobiographical story, meaning it was partly about his own life.

Other works he wrote include:

• German Life and Literature (1880), which looked at famous German writers.
• Hours in my Garden, and Other Nature-Sketches (1893), a book about nature.
• Three books of poems: The Circle of the Year (1893), Dramatic Pictures, English Rispetti, Sonnets and other Verses (1894), and Adam and Lilith: a Poem in Four Parts (1899), written as "A. F. Scot."
• Animal Anecdotes arranged on a New Principle (1887), written as "H. A. Page." In this book, he tried to show that animals' abilities are not so different from humans'.

Alexander Japp's Family

Alexander Japp was married twice.

• In 1863, he married Elizabeth Paul Falconer. She passed away in 1888. They had seven children together.
• Later, he married Eliza Love, who was also of Scottish background.