{"id":13911,"date":"2023-09-27T14:48:18","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T13:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/?p=13911"},"modified":"2025-03-24T14:08:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T14:08:51","slug":"bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books","title":{"rendered":"Bruce Marshall: The Story of an Accountant Who Wrote Books"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Literature is a realm that allows creative and talented individuals to realize their potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/uk\">Iedinburgh<\/a> tells you more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It doesn\u2019t really matter where these individuals work. As experience shows, a person can be employed in a field entirely unrelated to creativity and still manage to produce truly remarkable literary works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bruce Marshall is remembered in literary circles as a gifted author who created both fiction and non-fiction works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, not everyone knows that his original profession was far from creative. Yet this didn&#8217;t stop him from becoming a well-known author and ultimately choosing this path in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a04a673521da\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a04a673521da\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#Early_Years\" >Early Years<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#Injury\" >Injury<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#Education_and_Career\" >Education and Career<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#Back_in_the_Army\" >Back in the Army<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#Returning_to_France\" >Returning to France<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#Literary_Career\" >Literary Career<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#A_Distinctive_Trait\" >A Distinctive Trait<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#Literary_Debut\" >Literary Debut<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#Important_Work\" >Important Work<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#A_Final_Decision\" >A Final Decision<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/eternal-bruce-marshall-the-story-of-an-accountant-who-wrote-books\/#A_Popular_Book\" >A Popular Book<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Early_Years\"><\/span><strong>Early Years<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The future writer was born on June 24, 1899, in Edinburgh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the First World War broke out, Bruce served with the Highland Light Infantry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1918, he was appointed second lieutenant in the Royal Irish Rifles, later transferring to the 34th Battalion of the London Regiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Injury\"><\/span><strong>Injury<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Also in 1918, Bruce sustained a serious injury resulting in the amputation of one leg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1919, Marshall was promoted to lieutenant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Education_and_Career\"><\/span><strong>Education and Career<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After the war ended, Bruce graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a bachelor&#8217;s degree. Following graduation, he began working as an auditor. He started building his career in France, joining the Paris office of Peat Marwick Mitchell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Back_in_the_Army\"><\/span><strong>Back in the Army<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When France was invaded in 1940, Bruce managed to escape just before Nazi forces occupied Paris, where he had been living. Upon returning home, Marshall rejoined the army, initially serving in the Royal Army Pay Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to his support for the French Resistance, he was promoted to captain. Later, he transferred to the Displaced Persons Division in Austria, where he achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Returning_to_France\"><\/span><strong>Returning to France<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the war was over, Bruce moved back to France, settling on the C\u00f4te d\u2019Azur, where he lived until his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Literary_Career\"><\/span><strong>Literary Career<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking of Bruce&#8217;s literary activities, it\u2019s worth mentioning that he wrote stories characterized by humour and satire. Many of his works also had religious undertones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marshall\u2019s works typically explored themes related to Catholicism, adventure, intrigue, war, and accounting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly, his main characters were often accountants or priests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Distinctive_Trait\"><\/span><strong>A Distinctive Trait<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another distinct feature of Bruce\u2019s stories is that his characters often display a strong affection for animals. They frequently also show disdain toward areas such as modern art and contemporary literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Literary_Debut\"><\/span><strong>Literary Debut<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Marshall\u2019s first published literary work was the short story collection <em>A Thief in the Night<\/em>. Remarkably, it was published while the author was still attending university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His debut novel, <em>This Sorry Scheme<\/em>, was published in 1924.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Important_Work\"><\/span><strong>Important Work<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Bruce authored several more novels, but none of those written before the Second World War achieved as much fame as <em>Father Malachy\u2019s Miracle<\/em>. This book tells the story of a Scottish priest confronted with sinful behaviour, which ultimately leads him to experience a genuine miracle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Final_Decision\"><\/span><strong>A Final Decision<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After World War II ended, Bruce decided to devote his professional life entirely to literature. Thus, he left his accounting career behind, even though he had previously successfully combined it with writing. He liked to describe himself as &#8220;an accountant who writes books.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Popular_Book\"><\/span><strong>A Popular Book<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.iedinburgh.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2025\/03\/17200636\/ad_4nxe-1gbww1xv1ovcrgyeq14qddwmd8pcfg09ouq_tbaac7q7sippsogvjeuaoxcj8k4bn77ev1ocwjebipgdfucsw37vk1gpxkklkkt3rmbcatqj_h0raw2b7bm1eiuolyik0wpykey3kmboz5a5pmdjhszpljoplne.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Marshall\u2019s most famous postwar work is unquestionably <em>The White Rabbit<\/em>. The book is a biography of Wing Commander Yeo-Thomas, detailing his wartime exploits, accomplishments, and suffering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Literature is a realm that allows creative and talented individuals to realize their potential. Iedinburgh tells you more. It doesn\u2019t really matter where these individuals work. As experience shows, a person can be employed in a field entirely unrelated to creativity and still manage to produce truly remarkable literary works. Bruce Marshall is remembered in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":526,"featured_media":13917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4818],"tags":[5519,5517,5515,5518,5505,5516,5521,5508,5522,5520,5511],"motype":[4825],"moformat":[88],"moimportance":[32,35],"class_list":{"0":"post-13911","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cultural","8":"tag-authors","9":"tag-book","10":"tag-collection","11":"tag-culture","12":"tag-novel","13":"tag-novels","14":"tag-poem","15":"tag-story","16":"tag-theme","17":"tag-works","18":"tag-writers","19":"motype-eternal","20":"moformat-copywriting","21":"moimportance-golovna-novyna","22":"moimportance-retranslyacziya-v-agregatory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/526"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13911"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13915,"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13911\/revisions\/13915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13911"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=13911"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=13911"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iedinburgh.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=13911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}