Ballantyne, R.M. (Robert Michael), 1825-1894

Robert Michael Ballantyne was born into a well-to-do Edinburgh literary family. His father was a newspaper publisher and his uncle was the publisher of Sir Walter Scott. The family lost their money in 1841, and Robert became apprenticed as a clerk with the Hudson Bay Fur Company in Canada. This gave him a taste for adventure and ideas for his later career as a writer, painter, and lecturer back in Britain. Ballantyne wrote over forty books, mostly adventure books for children.

From the description of R.M. Ballantyne letter to Jas. McGrouther, 1881 Nov. 21. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 62171552

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