Personal data
James Rose
ca.
Born 1737  
aft.
Died 1794  

Son of James Rose of Brea (1699-1762) and his wife Margaret Rose, dau of James Rose of Broadley.1 M.A. from the University of Aberdeen, and later a student at Glasgow. Ordained Deacon in 1768 and Priest in 1769.2

Private tutor of English and Greek in Utrecht (1763-64, at the least)

Rose was Boswell's most intimate acquaintance during his time in Utrecht, 1763-64. He is first mentioned on October 1, 1763, and appears frequently until April 6, 1764, when he left Utrecht, apparently for England where George Dempster met him soon thereafter.3

On January 16, 1767, Boswell - who at the time had an affair with a Mrs Dodds - wrote in his journal that "You was torn with passion, or, as Rose used to say, your gloom fixed on love as its object." The reference is probably to James Rose.

    Boswell in Holland 1763-64

    Unless otherwise noted, the source for a dated quotation of Boswell's is generally the corresponding volume of the Yale Trade Editions of Boswell's journals.