Robert Hope Moncrieff

Robert Hope Moncrieff (26 February 1846 – 10 August 1927), known by the pen names A. R. Hope Moncreiff and Ascott R. Hope, was a prolific Scottish author of children's fiction and of Black's Guides.

Early life Robert Hope Moncrieff was born on 26 February 1846, the lawful son of George Moncrieff (11 May 191716 May 1865), a solicitor and his first wife Angela Birch (19 September 182025 December 1848). The couple had married the previous year in St Brides Church in Liverpool on 2 June 1845. Robert was quickly followed by a brother, John Forbes (5 July 18477 March 1927), and a sister, Angela Mary (27 November 18488 March 1864).

Moncrieff's mother, Angela, died of childbed fever four weeks after the birth of Angela Mary. Moncrieff was under three. His father married a second time on 27 June 1854 to Maria Wilks Williamson Rodgers (183030 March 1859) in Kilkenny, Ireland. The family now lived at No 7, Atholl Crescent in Perth. Maria gave George three more children: George Henry (2 November 185523 February 1947); Francis Edward (24 March 18577 January 1884); and Henrietta (14 June 185830 April 1859), who died in infancy.

Moncrieff's step-mother, Maria, died when he was just 13, and his father married again before he was 15. His third wife was Isabella Roy (29 October 182818 January 1879) whom he married on 16 January 1861 in 2, Atholl Crescent. Perth, Scotland. Her father was not a soldier, but the Captain of a ship trading in Asia with the permission of the East India Company.

Moncrieff and his brother were in boarding school by the time their father married for the third time. The 1861 Census shows both Moncrieff (15) and his brother John (13) boarding at the Circus Place School in Edinburgh. This was a highly regarded school which prepared pupils for the Edinburgh Academy. Moncrieff went on to attend the Edinburgh Academy and then the University of Edinburgh.

Moncrieff's father died in 1865, four years after his third marriage. when Moncrieff was 19. Moncrieff wrote nearly fifty years later that his mother had died before he knew her and that: my father also was taken too soon, leaving me precociously independent. Not one of his father's three marriages lasted five years, all ending prematurely with the death of either wife or husband. Moncrieff himself never married.

Writing Before he was out of his teens, Moncrieff had written and made money by a real book. While he attended the University of Edinburgh he wrote A book about Dominies (1867), Dominies being a term used for schoolmasters in Scotland. This was taken by a publisher, who published it at his own expense with a promise of profit to the author, which proved rather a mirage in the cold light of publishing accounts. It was published anonymously with no author's name given. The book was well reviewed and went into several editions. Moncrieff followed this up with A Book About Boys, (1868) adopting his pseudonym Ascott R. Hope for the first time. Moncrieff was ashamed of some of his early books and went to some expense to withdraw them from circulation.

Moncrieff says that he had have made awkward attempts at more than one handicraft, with the view of gathering straw for literary bricks. He was said to have taken up teaching briefly more with the purpose of studying schoolboys and their ways than to making it a profession.

Moncrieff travelled extensively. Even his census returns in the UK show how much he bounced around: 1851Living with his widowed father and two siblings in Perth. 5 years old. 1861At the Circus Place School in Edinburgh with his brother John. 1871An assistant master at Christ College, Brecon in Wales. 1881Boarding at 8, Victoria Grove, in Kensington, London. Profession now is Author. 1891Boarding at Hillside Boarding Lodge in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. Profession is Author. The 13th edition of Black's Guide to the Isle of Wight, edited by Moncrieff, was published in 1895. 1901Now 55 years old. Moncrieff was no longer boarding, but was at the head of his own establishment at 85 Munster Road in Fulham, London. No relatives in the house, but the house also holds his 60-year-old housekeeper and her adult daughter. The electoral register show that he was still there in 1907. 1911Only occupant of 5 Chandos Road, Cricklewood, London, apart from a 52-year-old housekeeper. 1927On his death at 81 years-of-age he was living at 16a Addison Gardens, Kensington, London.

Moncrieff not only travelled the whole of Great Britain, but he also travelled internationally. He wrote: It has been by lot to be a good deal about the world from an early age. After a boyish visit to Paris, my travels began with a cruise in the Mediterranean and a stay in Italy, still heaving from Garibaldi's exploits. Moncrieff travelled, and visited four continents. He even tried his hand at farming in Canada, but soon abandoned it.

Moncrieff was a member of first the Savile and later of the Athenaeum. He was of a kindly nature and always ready to do good to others, but in a discreet way. Some of the stories, like Dick's Dog, later reappeared in books of stories by Moncrieff.

+Serials and short stories in Boy's Papers by Moncrieff No. Order Year Title Journal Pt Illustrator Vol. Iss. Page Length 1 1 1879 18 Jan The Bogle The Boy's Own Paper 1 1 1 7 2 2 25 Jan 2 1 2 27 1 3 2 1879 01 Feb The Black Book The Boy's Own Paper 1 1 3 34 3 4 08 Feb 2 1 4 54 3 5 3 1879 05 Apr At the Masthead The Boy's Own Paper 1 1 12 185 2 6 12 Apr 2 1 13 201 2 7 19 Apr 3 1 14 214 3 8 4 1879 19 Jul Caught Out The Boy's Own Paper 1 1 28 433 2 9 26 Jul 2 1 29 455 2 10 5 1880 01 Jan The Magician's Apprentice; An Old Tale Retold The Union Jack 1 1 1 14 2 11 6 1880 08 Jan The Great Unknown; Or, The Adventures of Robbin, Bobbin, Watkin, And Pippin The Union Jack 1 1 2 30 2 12 15 Jan 2 1 3 46 2 13 22 Jan 3 1 4 61 2 14 29 Jan 4 1 5 78 2 15 7 1880 01 Apr Boots!; Or, The True Hero The Union Jack 1 Horace Petherick 1 14 210 3 16 8 1882 07 Oct The Troubles of a Dominie The Boy's Own Paper 1 5 195 9 2 17 14 Oct 2 5 196 29 1 18 9 1883 28 Jul The Tell-Tale; A School Story The Boy's Own Paper 1 5 237 697 2 19 04 Aug 2 5 238 718 1 20 11 Aug 3 5 239 730 1 21 25 Aug 4 5 241 758 4 22 01 Sep 5 5 242 777 2 23 08 Sep 6 5 243 790 1 24 10 1886 23 Jan Dick's Dog The Boy's Own Paper 1 8 367 252 1 25 30 Jan 2 8 368 281 1 26 11 1886 24 Jul Miss Molly Mick Mac The Boy's Own Paper 1 8 393 681 1 27 31 Jul 2 8 394 692 1 28 12 1886 11 Sep Boby Bounce The Boy's Own Paper 1 8 400 794 1 29 13 1890 06 Sep My Travels in Africa. From a Schoolboy's Journal The Boy's Own Paper 1 12 608 777 2 30 13 Sep 2 12 609 791 2 31 20 Sep 3 12 610 806 1 32 27 Sep 4 12 611 817 2 33 14 1891 10 Oct Well Caught! A Grammar School Story The Boy's Own Paper 1 14 665 25 2 34 15 1892 06 Aug Left Behind. A Story of Holiday Misfortunes The Boy's Own Paper 1 14 708 714 2 35 13 Aug 2 14 709 729 2 36 16 1892 Xmas The Good Old Times The Boy's Own Paper 1 14 Xmas 5 3 37 17 1893 03 Jun The Merry Swiss Boots The Boy's Own Paper 1 15 751 565 2 38 10 Jun 2 15 752 581 2 39 17 Jun 3 15 753 598 2 40 24 Jun 4 15 754 613 2 41 18 1893 Summer The Holiday Tiroler The Boy's Own Paper 1 15 Summer 17 3 42 19 1894 09 Jun The McKickshaws. An Old Boy's Recollections The Boy's Own Paper 1 16 804 561 3 43 16 Jun 2 16 805 577 3 44 23 Jun 3 16 806 593 3 45 30 Jun 4 16 807 609 3 46 07 Jul 5 16 808 625 3 47 14 Jul 6 16 809 642 2 48 20 1894 04 Aug An Adventure with the Apaches The Boy's Own Paper 1 16 812 689 2 49 11 Aug 2 16 813 705 2 50 18 Aug 3 16 814 721 2 51 21 1894 06 Oct Hard Up! A Story of Exmoor The Boy's Own Paper 1 17 821 5 2 52 13 Oct 2 17 822 21 2 53 20 Oct 3 17 823 38 2 54 27 Oct 4 17 824 53 3 55 03 Nov 5 17 825 40 2 56 10 Nov 6 17 826 85 2

Books other than Black's Guides In the semi-autobiographical A Book About Authors (1914) Moncrieff wrote that: For more than forty years I have been an author of all work, what the contemptuous call a hack...

Famous historical scenes from three centuries : Pictures of celebrated events from the Reformation to the end of the French Revolution. Selected from the works of standard authors. Round about the Minster Green; Stories of the boys and girls who lived there, etc.

The Men of the Backwoods; true stories and sketches of the Indians and the Indian Fighters ... Illustrated, etc.

The Daughter of the Regiment. A story from My Grandmother's Journal, etc. Stories of Long Ago [adapted from the “Gesta Romanorum,” etc.]. Retold by A. R. Hope ... With ... illustrations by Charles Oliver Murray, etc.

The Vulture's Nest and other stories (adapted ... from the German)

Scenes from our century, selected from standard historians and other writers, by A.R.H. Moncrieff

Redskin and Paleface. Romance and adventure of the Plains. ... With twelve illustrations

Stories by Ascott R. Hope [selected from his collections of short stories previously published]

Nutcracker and mouse king, and Educated cat by E. T. A. Hoffmann

The men of the backwoods: true stories and sketches of the Indians and the Indian fighters, New rev. ed.

Voyages en zigzag ... Selected, translated, and edited from Rodolphe Toepffer

Walter's Feats. From the Swedish of Z. Topelius. Translated [from “Läsning för Barn”] by A. R. Hope

Die Ostereier by Johann Christoph von Schmid. Translated, abridged and edited.

viii,184p.,37 leaves of plates : ill.(some col.),1 folded map ; 20 cm.

viii, 244 p., leaves of plates : col. ill., frontis. ; 21 cm. Fifty-Two Stories of Classic Heroes ... Edited by Francis Storr Stories of Wild Beasts and their curious traits ... With illustrations

Heroes of the European Nations. [Another edition of “Heroes of European History.” With illustrations.] Leaders & Landmarks in European History, from early to modern times. By A. R. Hope Moncrieff ... & the Rev. H. J. Chaytor, etc. [With plates and maps.]

Holiday Adventures ... New edition [of “An Album of Adventures”], etc.

The McKickshaws at School ... With ... illustrations, etc. (First published as “Half-Text History.”) [iv], 308 p., leaves of plates (incl. front.) : ill. ; 20 cm. The New World of To-Day ... With economic data supplied by Lionel W. Lyde ... and a series of maps. [Illustrated.]

Robert Hope Moncrieff: a memorial volume, etc. [Papers intended for a projected book “Romances of America.” With a portrait.]

Black's Guides Adam and Charles Black published an extensive series of guides known as Black's Guides, as well as illustrated books describing different localities. Although Moncrieff is usually credited as the editor, the work was more involved than the term editor would suggest. Moncrieff said: I have edited, that is mainly written, or re-written, some dozens of guide-books, most of them appearing in successive editions. The list of those which could be found in searches on the Jisc Library Hub Discover, which aggregates catalogues for academic libraries, and libraries of record in the UK and Ireland. The differences between the editions were not trivial, and sometimes involved a complete rewrite. The more popular books were revised more often than the less popular books, as changes in railways, towns and cities, and in hotels and attractions brought the need for new editions. The table below is not exhaustive as not all of the different editions are held in the libraries.

The guides fall into two broad categories: Books with a great deal of colour illustration with notes, such as Bonnie Scotland (1904), later republished as Scotland (1922). This had 75 leaves of colour illustrations from paintings by Harold Sutton Palmer. The notes did not so much describe the views painted, but put them in a historical and literary context, together with railway directions. The Guides proper: Books that serve as tour guides, with maps, and accounts of places of interest, and journeys, be they on foot along the coast, or by rail or road.

+Guide books written or edited by Robert Hope Moncrieff for Adam and Charles Black Limited Year Title Edition Illustrator Pages 1892 Where shall we go? A guide to the watering-places and health resorts of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. 12th ed. pp. xxv, 348: plates; maps. ; 17 cm. 1893 Where to go Abroad. A guide to the watering-places and health resorts of Europe, the Mediterranean, etc. [With map.] xxii. 466 pages ; (8º) 1895 Black's Guide to the Isle of Wight including sailing directions for the Solent 13th ed. Maps by Walker and Boutall viii, 122p. maps ; sm.8vo. 1895 Black's guide to Devonshire 15th ed. 232 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1895 Black's guide to Cornwall 16th ed. x, 186 p., leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1896 Black's guide to Bournemouth and the New Forest 71 p., folded leaves : maps ; 17 cm. 1896 Black's guide to Leamington, Warwick, Stratford-on-Avon, Kenilworth & Coventry 8th ed. 82, 128, p., leaves of plates (some folded) : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1896 Black's guide to the county of Sussex and its watering places 10th ed. 200,128p, leaves of plates(6 fold) : ill, maps, plans ; 17 cm. 1896 Black's guide to the English Lakes 22nd ed. x, 223 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1896 Black's guide to Edinburgh 24th ed. ,110,,128p, 3 (fold)plates : illus, maps, plans ; 17.2 cm. 1897 Black's guide to Bath and Bristol, Clifton, Wells, Glastonbury etc. 6th ed. 87 p., leaves & folded leaf of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1897 Black's guide to Dorset, Salisbury, Stonehenge, etc. 14th ed. vi, 132 p., leaf & folded leaf of plates : map, plan ; 17 cm. 1897 Black's guide to Hampshire 13th ed. xii, 184 p. ; 17 cm. 1898 Black's guide to Matlock, Dovedale and central Derbyshire 76 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1898 Black's guide to Bournemouth and the New Forest 2nd ed. iv, 71 p., folded leaves : maps ; 17 cm. 1898 Black's Guide to Surrey 5th ed. vi, 184 p., folded leaves : maps ; 17 cm. 1898 Black's guide to Buxton and the peak country of Derbyshire 9th ed. 87 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1898 Black's shilling guide to Scotland 10th ed. 143 p., leaves & folded leaf of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1898 Black's guide to Sussex and its watering-places 11th ed. 200 p., folded leaves : maps ; 17 cm. 1898 Black's guide to the county of Sussex and its watering places 11th ed. 200,132p, leaves of plates(7 fold) : ill, maps, plans ; 17 cm. 1898 Black's guide to Brighton and its environs 12th ed. 95 p., leaf & folded leaf of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1898 Black's guide to Devonshire 16th ed. 232 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1898 Black's guide to Cornwall 17th ed. x, 186 p., leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1899 Black's guide to Hastings & Eastbourne, St Leonards, Bexhill, Rye, Winchelsea, etc. 88 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1899 Black's guide to Harrogate 11th ed. 88 p., folded leaves : maps, plans ; 17 cm. 1899 Black's guide to the Isle of Wight : including sailing directions for the Solent 14th ed. vi, 122, 132 p., leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1899 Black's guide to Scarborough & Whitby, Filey, Bridlington, Saltburn, Eskdale, etc. 19th ed. 88 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1899 Black's guide to Edinburgh 25th ed. 110 p., leaf & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps, plans ; 17 cm. 1899 Blacks guide to Somerset 15th ed. xvi, 231, , 132 p. : maps (fold., col.) ; 8vo. 1900 Black's guide to the Wye 120 p., leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1900 Black's guide to Manchester 11th ed. 84 p., folded leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1900 Black's guide to the English Lakes 23rd ed. x, 223 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1901 Black's guide to West Kent : Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Rochester, etc. viii, 120 p., leaves of plates, folded leaves : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1901 Black's guide around London vi, 88 p., leaves & folded leaf of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1901 Black's guide to Surrey 6th ed. vii, 184,128p : maps(col, fold) 1901 Black's guide to Cornwall 18th ed. x, 132 p. : ill., maps (1 folded), plans, plates ; 17 cm. 1901 Black's guide to the Trossachs, Loch Katrine, Loch Lomond, etc. 25th ed. viii, 92 p., folded leaves : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1902 Black's guide to Exeter and East Devon : Seaton, Sidmouth, Exmouth, etc. 76 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1902 Black's guide around London viii, p. 86-156, leaves & folded leaves of maps : maps ; 17 cm. 1902 Black's guide to Bournemouth and the New Forest 4th ed. iv, 71 p., folded leaves : maps ; 17 cm. 1902 Black's guide to Leamington, Warwick, Stratford-on-Avon, Kenilworth & Coventry 9th ed. 82 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1902 Black's guide to Sussex and its watering-places 12th ed. 208 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1902 Black's Guide to Dorset, Salisbury, Stonehenge etc. 15th ed. vi, 132 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1902 Black's guide to Devonshire 17th ed. xix, 243 p. : ill.,maps (part folded), folded plan ; 17 cm. 1903 Around London : Black's guide to the environs for twenty miles viii, 248 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : maps ; 17 cm. 1903 Black's guide to Manchester 12th ed. 84 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1903 Black's guide to Edinburgh 26th ed. 110 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps, plans ; 17 cm. 1904 Black's guide to Sherwood Forest and South Derbyshire iv, 60 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1904 Bonnie Scotland Sutton Palmer xi, 254 p., leaves of plates : col. ill. ; 23 cm. 1904 Black's guide to Somerset 2nd ed. xvi, 231,114p, plates : ill, maps(4 fold) ; 17 cm. 1904 Black's guide to Buxton and the Peak country of Derbyshire 10th ed. 87, 114 p. : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1904 Black's guide to Derbyshire with Sherwood Forest 18th ed. x, 78, 58, 56, iv p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1904 Black's guide to Hampshire : Bournemouth, New Forest, Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth, etc. 15th ed. vi,188;112p., leaves of plates : ill.., maps ; 17 cm. 1905 Black's guide to Surrey 7th ed. vi, 184 p., leaves of plates, folded leaves : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1905 Black's guide to Sussex and its watering-places 13th ed. 208 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1906 The Highlands and Islands of Scotland William Smith Jr. x, 231, 1 page, 40 col. preliminary leaves (incl. frontispiece) : folded map ; 23 cm. 1906 Black's guide to West Kent : Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Rochester, etc. 2nd ed. viii, 120 p., leaves of plates, folded leaves : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1906 Black's guide to Devonshire 18th ed. xix, 243 pages : frontispiece, plates, maps (some folded) folded plan ; 17 cm. 1906 Surrey 1st ed. Sutton Palmer xi, 252 p : plates, fold. map ; 23 cm. 1907 Middlesex John Fulleylove ix, 159 p., leaves of plates, folded leaf of plates : ill., maps ; 23 cm. 1907 Black's guide to Dorset, Salisbury, Stonehenge, etc. 16th ed. vi, 136 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1907 Black's guide to Cornwall 20th ed. x, 188 p., leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1908 Isle of Wight Alfred Heaton Cooper viii, 175 p., leaves of plates : ill. ; 23 cm. + folded maps. 1908 The Peak country W. Biscombe Gardner xii, 182, p., 24 leaves of plates : col. ill. ; 20 cm. 1908 Kew Gardens Thomas Mower Martin x, 208 p. : frontispiece, col. plates ; 21 cm. 1908 Black's guide to Bath and Bristol, Clifton, Wells, Glastonbury, etc. 9th ed 87 p. : 1 ill., maps 1909 Essex Louis Burleigh Bruhl xii, 26l, 1 p. : 75 col. pl. (incl. front., fold. map) ; 23 cm. 1909 The heart of Scotland Sutton Palmer x, 205 p. : 24 col. pl. (incl.front.) fold. map. ; 26 cm. 1909 Black's guide to West Kent : Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Rochester, etc. 3rd ed. viii, 120 p., leaves of plates, folded leaves : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1909 Black's guide to Surrey 8th ed. vi, 184 p., leaves of plates & folded leaves : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1910 Black's guide to Devonshire 18th ed. xix, 243 p. : ill. ; 17 cm. 1911 Black's guide to Exeter and East Devon : Seaton, Sidmouth, Exmouth, etc. 2nd ed. 74,96p : ill, maps(2 fold), fold.plan ; 17 cm. 1911 Black's guide to Sussex and its watering-places 14th ed. 208, 88 p., leaves of plates (7 fold.) : ill., col. maps (1 fold. in pocket) ; 17 cm. 1911 Black's guide to the county of Sussex and its watering places 14th ed. 208,96p, leaves of plates(7 fold) : ill, maps, plan ; 17 cm. 1911 Black's guide to Devonshire 19th ed. xix, 243, 88 p. : ill., maps 1911 Black's guide to Cornwall 21st ed. x, 188 p., leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1913 Black's guide to Hampshire: Bournemouth, New Forest, Winchester, Southampton, Portsmouth, etc. 17th ed. 8vo. 1915 Black's guide to Dorset, Salisbury, Stonehenge, etc. 17th ed. vi, 136p, plates : ill, maps(5 fold), plan ; 17 cm. 1919 Black's guide to Cornwall 22nd ed. 188p. 1920 The cockpit of Europe xii, 210 p : 32 col. plates, fold. map ; 23 cm. 1921 Black's guide to Dorset, Salisbury, Stonehenge, etc. 18th ed. vi, 136 p., leaves & folded leaves of plates : ill., maps ; 17 cm. 1921 Black's guide to Devonshire 20th ed. xv, 243 p. : ill. ; 17 cm. 1922 Scotland (2nd ed. of Bonnie Scotland) Sutton Palmer xi, , 259, p. col. front., col. plates, illus. (map) 21 cm 1925 Highlands and islands of Scotland 2d ed. William Smith Jnr. xi, 234 p., 32 leaves of plates : ill., map. ; 21 cm. 1926 Black's guide to Dorset, Salisbury, Stonehenge, etc. 19th ed. vi, 136,36p, plates : ill, maps(6 fold), plan ; 17 cm. 1926 Essex Rev. ed. Louis Burleigh Bruhl ix, 261 p., leaves of plates : ill. ; 22 cm. 1927 Derbyshire W. Biscombe Gardner, W. Heaton Cooper vii, , 239 p. col. front., illus. (map) col. plates. 21 cm