James Samuelson (1829– ) was an English writer. Public information about him is limited, and the details of his life are now difficult to establish with certainty. From the existing records, he was concerned with the history and present conditions of Southern Europe and the East. His representative work, Roumania Past and Present, describes Romania's past and the social conditions of his time, combining historical narrative with observations of contemporary reality. Materials held in the collection also state that he wrote works on Indian history, economy and British colonial policy, which suggests that his subjects ranged across Eastern Europe and South Asia. He tended to present a region's historical development and current problems in narrative form for general readers rather than specialists. Few of his works survive, and only one is held in the collection, so his overall profile and influence await further study.
