David Daiches, 92; Prolific Author, Professor Also Was an Expert on Whiskey

David Daiches, 92, an expert on both Scotch whiskey and Scottish and English literature, died July 15 in Edinburgh, Scotland, of unspecified causes.

The prolific professor of English wrote more than 50 books, including 1969’s “Scotch Whisky: Its Past and Present,” which remains a standard reference work and connoisseur’s guide, and “A Wee Dram” in 1990.

He also published a three-volume autobiography and several works of criticism, poetry and biography, including “A Critical History of English Literature” in 1960 and works on Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie).

Born in Sunderland, England, the son of a rabbi, Daiches moved to Edinburgh with his family at age 6 and considered it one of his favorite places. He returned to the Scottish city toward the end of his career, serving as director at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at Edinburgh University from 1980 until his retirement in 1986.

Educated at Edinburgh University and Oxford, Daiches taught English at the University of Chicago and worked for the British Information Service in New York and the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., during World War II. He also taught at Cornell University before returning to Britain for long stints at Cambridge and Sussex universities.