Theodore Martin

Sir Theodore Martin was a Scottish biographer, poet, and translator. Martin was born in Edinburgh, the only son of Mary, the daughter of James Reid, a Fraserburgh shipowner, and solicitor James Martin. He was educated at the Royal High School and studied at the University of Edinburgh from 1830-1833. He worked as an attorney in Edinburgh from 1840 to 1845 before moving to London to lead the firm of Martin and Leslie, parliamentary agents. His first contribution to literature was the amusing Bon Gaultier Ballads, which he co-wrote with W.E. Aytoun and remained popular for a long time; first published in a journal, they were published in book format in 1845. Martin's translated works include Dante's Vita Nuova, Oehlenschl ger's Correggio and Aladdin, Heinrich Heine's Poems and Ballads, Friedrich Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, and Hertz's King Rene's Daughter. He also wrote a full translation of Horace's Life and one of Catullus. He is arguably best known for his Life of the Prince Consort (1874-80), which Queen Victoria entrusted to him to write and which earned him her lifetime friendship. He also wrote biographies of Professor Aytoun and Lord Lyndhurst.