Marjory and Oliver Wardrop

Sir Oliver Wardrop (1864-1948) was a British Consul and orientalist. His sister Marjory Scott Wardrop (1869-1909) accompanied him in all his consular posts. Both brother and sister developed a strong interest in Georgia and her culture after Sir Oliver's first visit to the country in 1887, which gave rise to his Kingdom of Georgia (London, 1888). The Wardrops' interest in Georgia became widely known in the country when the poet Ilia Chavchavadze published a letter from Marjory requesting permission to translate his poem, 'The Hermit', in his newspaper Iveria on 8 September 1894. Marjory translated several works of Georgian literature, notably Rustaveli's 'The Man in the Panther's Skin'. After Marjory's death, Sir Oliver established the Marjory Wardrop Fund in her memory, for the encouragement of the study of the language, literature and history of Georgia. See Who Was Who for details on Sir Oliver Wardrop.