Douglas Ainslie

Grant Duff Douglas Ainslie (1865–27 March 1948) was a Scottish poet, translator, critic and diplomat. He was born in Paris, France, and educated at Eton College and at Balliol and Exeter Colleges, Oxford. A contributor to the Yellow Book, he met and befriended Oscar Wilde at age twenty-one while an undergraduate at Oxford. He was also associated with other such notable figures as Aubrey Beardsley and Walter Pater. The first translator of the Italian philosopher Benedetto Croce into English, he also lectured on Hegel. He was identified as the "Dear Ainslie" recipient of twelve letters written by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1895 - 1896, which were auctioned by Christie's in 2004. (http://www.bestofsherlock.com/ref/200405christies_lots.htm) See "The Identification of Ainslie" by Al Dawson in "The Magic Door", v. 14, no. 2 (Summer 2012), pp. 1,6,7 - a publication of The Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection, Toronto Public Libraries.

Ainslie was a Member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Bibliography

• Escarlamonde and Other Poems (1893) [1]
• John of Damascus (1901)
• Moments: Poems (1905) [2]
• The Song of the Stewarts: Prelude (1909) [3]
• Mirage: Poems (1911) [4]
• Adventures Social and Literary (1922)
• Chosen Poems (1926)
• The Conquest of Pleasure (1942)