Ruthven Todd
Ruthven Campbell Todd (1914-1978) was a Scottish writer, artist, and educator known for his diverse literary contributions and involvement with the Surrealist movement. Born in Edinburgh, he was educated at Fettes College and the Edinburgh School of Art, initially pursuing a career in painting. Todd's life took various turns, including working as a shepherd on the Isle of Mull and holding multiple occupations such as a bookstore clerk, advertising copywriter, and literary agent. His literary career began with the publication of his first novel, *Over the Mountain*, in 1939, a satirical take on fascism.
During World War II, he served as a conscientious objector, publishing several poetry collections that often explored themes of nature and love. He later gained recognition as a scholar of the poet and artist William Blake, editing notable works about him. After moving to the United States in the late 1940s, Todd taught at various universities and produced children's books, including the *Space Cat* series. He spent his later years in Majorca, where he continued to write until his passing in 1978. Todd's work reflects a rich blend of humor, literary critique, and artistic expression, marking him as a significant figure in 20th-century literature.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Ruthven Todd
- Born: June 14, 1914
- Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Died: 1978
Biography
Ruthven Campbell Todd was born on June 14, 1914, in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was raised. He was the son of architect W. J. W. Todd and Christian (Craik) Todd, and was related by blood to a number of literary figures, including Sir Walter Scott, Henry Mackenzie, George Lillie Craik and Sir Henry Craik. Ruthven (pronounced “Riven”) was educated at Fettes College and at the Edinburgh School of Art, where he studied painting.
Todd began his career as an artist while working in his father’s office. He left after a short time for the Isle of Mull, where he toiled as a shepherd and farmhand for two years. He returned to Edinburgh, married, and sired a son, Christopher (later to become Dr. F. C. C. Todd, senior lecturer in the department of French Studies at the University of Leeds). Todd worked at a variety of occupations—as bookstore clerk, advertising copywriter, and newspaper journalist; in art and pottery galleries; as literary agent; as teacher; as assistant editor for the Scottish Bookman and for Horizon magazine—in Edinburgh, London, and Dunmow in Essex, while writing poetry and prose. He became involved with the Surrealists in the mid-1930’s, and contributed poems to the anthologies Proems: An Anthology of Poems and Poets of Tomorrow: First Selection. Todd’s first novel, Over the Mountain, a satirical allegory about fascism, appeared in 1939.
During World War II, Todd, a conscientious objector, served in Civil Defense, meanwhile publishing several volumes of poems (Until Now, The Acreage of the Heart, and The Planet in My Hand: Twelve Poems), which typically used conventional forms to observe natural objects, love, and art. He also penned such nonfiction works as The Laughing Mulatto: The Story of Alexandre Dumas and Tracks in the Snow: Studies in English Science and Art. Known as a scholar of the English poet and artist William Blake, Todd edited a number of books on the poet between 1942 and 1968, such as Alexander Gilchrist’s Life of William Blake and Blake’s Dante Plates. Between 1945 and 1946, writing as R. T. Campbell, Todd wrote seven humorous mystery novels (including Unholy Dying, Bodies in a Bookshop, Swing Low, Sweet Death, and Take Thee a Sharp Knife) that featured witty botanist Professor John Stubbs as amateur sleuth.
In the late 1940’s, Todd came to the United States (he became a naturalized citizen in the late 1950’s), and taught at the University of New York, while running a small publishing house, the Weekend Press, from 1950 to 1954. In New York City, Todd introduced Welsh poet Dylan Thomas to the literary watering hole the White Horse Tavern, where Thomas collapsed and died in 1953. Todd later taught creative writing at Iowa State University and served as a visiting professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. During his time in the U.S., Todd wrote several children’s books, notably the science fiction-fantasy Space Cat series illustrated by Paul Galdone, beginning with Space Cat and ending with Space Cat and the Kittens.
In 1958, Ruthven Campbell Todd moved to Majorca, where he lived for the rest of his life. Ruthven Todd, who was awarded Guggenheim Fellowships (1960, 1967), a Chapelbrook Fellowship (1968), and an Ingram Merrill Foundation Fellowship (1970). He published his last book, a collection of poems, Lament of the Cats of Rapallo, in 1973. He died in 1978.