Description

Henry Mackenzie (1745-1831) was a Scottish novelist and miscellaneous writer. Mackenzie was educated at the Royal High School and the University of Edinburgh. His first and most famous work, The Man of Feeling, was published anonymously in 1771, and met with instant success. It is considered a seminal work in the development of the novel as an art form. The "Man of Feeling" is a weak creature, dominated by a futile benevolence, who goes up to London and falls into the hands of people who exploit his innocence. The first of his dramatic pieces, The Prince of Tunis, was produced in Edinburgh in 1773 with a certain measure of success. Some of his literary reminiscences were embodied in his Account of the Life and Writings of John Home, Esq. (1822). He also wrote a Life of Doctor Blacklock, prefixed to the 1793 edition of the poet's works.