Reputation
Much of Crichton's posthumous reputation comes from a romantic 1652 account of his life written by Sir Thomas Urquhart (1611–1660), contained within an unclassifiable work (The Jewel) that is characterized by exaggeration and hyperbole. There is little or no contemporary evidence for many of the stories surrounding him. That said, his existence is supported by a few letters and his actual abilities were probably impressive. A historical novel entitled Crichton was published by the English writer William Harrison Ainsworth in 1836. The 'Admirable Crichton' was mentioned as an exemplar in W. M. Thackeray's Vanity Fair . James Crichton's sobriquet was later employed by fellow Scot Sir James Barrie as the title of his 1902 satirical play, "The Admirable Crichton", about a butler whose savoir-faire far exceeds that of his aristocratic employers. A memorial to him can be found in the church of St Bride's in Sanquhar and in the church of San Simone in Mantua.
He is also the namesake of the James Crichton Society at St Andrews University which publishes a monthly academic journal.
Read more about this topic: James Crichton
Famous quotes containing the word reputation:
“This one fact the world hates; that the soul becomes; for that forever degrades the past, turns all riches to poverty, all reputation to a shame, confounds the saint with the rogue, shoves Jesus and Judas equally aside.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The cultivation of literary pursuits forms the basis of all sciences, and in their perfection consist the reputation and prosperity of kingdoms.”
—Marquês De Pombal (1699–1782)
“You know what the critics are. If you tell the truth they only say you’re cynical and it does an author no good to get a reputation for cynicism.”
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)