Saintsbury, Professor George

(1845–1933). Though a distinguished man of letters in his day, Saintsbury is now principally remembered for Notes on a Cellar-Book, a seminal work on wine which was an immediate success and has run to many editions.

He was born on 23 October 1845 in Southampton, where his father was superintendent of the docks. The family moved to London in 1850 and Saintsbury attended King’s College School, where he acquired his deep love of literature. Aged 17 he won a Postmastership to Merton College, Oxford, but to his everlasting regret he failed to win a Fellowship. For ten years, from the age of 21, he was a schoolmaster but eventually settled in London with his wife and two sons, becoming a journalist, and for a time was assistant editor of the Saturday Review.