The Victorian Translators of Verne: Mercier to Metcalfe

Jules Verne Mondial 2005

A talk delivered at the Jules Verne Mondial, March, 2005 by Norman Wolcott, Rockville, MD, USA. [Originally intended to cover mainly the English translators, hence the title,  but now slightly expanded to cover other translators as well.]

Who are they, these translators of Verne? Mostly we know them only as a name in a bibliography, but they were real people. Some were famous authors, others little known journalists; some English clergymen, others ardent Catholics; some old, some young; some published only a few books, others over a hundred; some English, some American; some lived long, some died young — in short, a cross section of 19th century literary activity. But these are the authors whose works good and bad, through the hundreds of thousands of reprints printed in then copyright free America have preserved the knowledge of Verne for the English speaking world. [Translations of particular merit are marked by a red star *. Those particularly bad are marked with a black ball ·.]

Anne Toppan Wilbur

The  first translation of a  Verne story into the English language was done by  Anne Toppan Wilbur (1817-1864) (married names Anne T. Wood, Mrs. John T. Procter), born in the town of Wendell, Massachusetts in Franklin County, 90 miles west of Boston and later a resident of Newburyport, Mass.  She was the daughter of Hervey Wilbur, D.D. (1787—1852), a Congregational minister at Wendell, Mass. from 1817-1823 and later at Newburyport. He published several religious books and a text book Elements of Astronomy (1829) and lectured on natural history and astronomy.

Anne Toppan Wilbur, born in the town of Wendell, Franklin County, Massachusetts, 20 June, 1817 ; died near Marletta, Ohio, 14 September, 1864, was educated at Newburyport and elsewhere. After completing her studies, she taught music at New Hampton, New Hampshire, Gorham, Maine, and in schools in other places. She translated several volumes from the French and other languages, among them "The Solitude of Juan Fernandez " (Boston, 1851), and contributed chiefly fiction, under the name of "Florence Leigh," to various periodicals. In 1848 she edited the Boston " Ladies' Magazine" and the Lowell, Massachusetts, " Ladies' Casket." After becoming Mrs. Joseph Wood, she published English versions of X. B. Saintine's " Queen of the Danube " and Edmond About's " La question Romaine" (Boston, 1859), and " Romance of a Mummy" (Columbus, 1860).

Ms. Wilbur  published under the pseudonyms of Mrs. Annie T. Wood, Mrs. John Procter, and Florence Leigh, the latter mainly in her contributions to periodicals. She translated works from French into English. Her Verne translations are:

I.  *A Voyage in a Balloon by Jules Verne. Translated from the French by Anne T. Wilbur, published in: Sartain’s Union Magazine of Literature and Art, Philadelphia, May 1852, Vol. X, No. 5, pgs 389-395, 2 chapters. Available on-line at {Balloon}.

II.  *The Pearl of Lima. A Story of True Love. Translated from the French of M. Jules Verne by Anne T. Wilbur, Graham’s Magazine, Philadelphia, April 1853, Vol. XLII, No. 4, pgs 422-445, 9 chapters.

These early works by Jules Verne were published in French as Un voyage en ballon: 1851 and Martin Paz, nouvelle historique: 1852. These works have also been translated by Elizabeth Frewer and George Towle, offering an opportunity to compare the styles of these various translators. This early version of Un voyage en ballon contains in miniature many of the features of the later Voyages Extraordinaires and is a different version from the one later published by Hetzel.

Ms. Wilbur published numerous translations in literary magazines of the time and translated several other books from the French, including the first translation of The Romance of the Mummy (La Roman de la Momie) by Théophile Gautier, Bradburn, New York: 1863. (This story of an archaeologist in love with a 2000 year old mummy is an early novel of the science-fiction genre.)  She died at the young age of 47. Had she but lived a few more years what labours  the reconstructionists of the English Verne would have been spared! More on Anne Wilbur is available at the {Andrew Nash} Andrew Nash website. Her book translations are:

The Solitary of Juan Fernandez ; or, The Real Robinson Crusoe, by Joseph Xavier Boniface Santine, Ticknor, Reed, and Fields,Boston: 1851

Chrisna; the Queen of the Danube, by Joseph Xavier Boniface Santine, Translated from the French by Anne Toppan (Wilbur) Wood  Delisser & Procter, New York: 1859

The Roman Question, by E. About, translated by Annie T. Wood, J. E. Tilton and Co., Boston: 1859

The Romance of the Mummy, by Théophile Gautier, Columbus, Ohio: 1860; Bradburn, New York: 1863

The following scientific magazine articles translated by Ms. Wilbur may be of interest:

. *The Death Of Nicholas Copernicus.; Translated from the French by Anne T Wilbur. Christian Parlor Magazine (1844-1855). New York: Jan 1, 1849. p. 268 (4 pages).  One of the first of Ms. Willur’s translations.

* Aerial Ascensions.; Translated from the French by Anne T Wilbur, Christian Parlor Magazine (1844-1855). New York: May 1, 1852. p. 69 (5 pages) . Available on-line at {Aerial Ascensions} The French version of this article was written by a J. -B. Gaspard published in the Musèe des Familles in 1850. The article is of especial interest because (1) Verne referred to it when publishing Un voyage en ballon, and (2) the article employs many of the stylistic artifices used so effectively in Verne’s later work.

A large list of articles translated by Ms. Wilbur is in Appendix I.

There were two translations of Earth to the Moon published in local newspapers in 1867, but the authors of these are not known. The next known translator is:

Jeheiel Keeler Hoyt

In June, 1869, the Newark Daily News and Weekly Journal published From the Earth to the Moon translated by Jehiel [1] Keeler Hoyt (1820—1895), the first full length book by Verne attributable to an American author.

Prior to the Civil War Mr. Hoyt ran a successful business as a “general dealer” (factor, broker — NMW) in New Orleans, but with the outbreak of war he lost everything. Returning north he engaged in literary activities and  became editor of the New Brunswick Times. In the 1860 census he was listed as living in Chatham, New Jersey, occupation: merchant, age: 38; wife: Phebe Hoyt, age: 34; child: Robert D. Hoyt, age: 2; Phebe F. Hoyt, age: 71; worth: $8000.

Mr. Hoyt’s literary efforts commenced with his From the Earth to the Moon in 1869; his experience in New Orleans no doubt adding to his facility with the French language. According to his obituary he also translated other French books, but at the moment there is no record of these. In 1872 this was followed by a novel The Romance of the Table, and in  1874 by a non-fiction work Pen, Pencil Pictures on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.

By 1875 Mr. Hoyt had become a resident of Newark, New Jersey where he resided until his death. In the early 1870’s he became managing editor of the Newark Daily Advertiser, continuing in that position until 1885. In the 1880 census he was listed as living at 276 Belleville Ave., age: 52, occupation: local editor; his wife Phebe J. Hoyt, age: 50; his son Robert D. Hoyt, age: 22, occupation: compositor. 1882 Funk and Wagnals published his The Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations, a popular reference work which they continued to republish as late as 1940. After 1885 he later did editorial work for the Newark Journal and in 1893 became an editorial writer for the Newark Times until it ceased publication. He died in Plainfield, New Jersey on February 9, 1895

He published a novel The Romance of the Table (1872) and in 1882 Funk and Wagnals published his The Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations,  later republished as Hoyt’s New cyclopedia of practical quotations drawn from the speech and literature of all nations, ancient and modern, classic and popular, in English and foreign text with the names, dates, and nationality of quoted authors, and copious indexes and which was reprinted as late as 1940.  [NY Times obit, Feb 10, 1895;  Victor Berch, James Lewis, private communications]

His Verne book is:

I. From the Earth to the Moon; Passage Direct in 97 hours and 20 minutes, Newark, NJ: Newark Daily and Weekly Journal: 1869, later reprinted as a paper cover book.

His other known publications are:

The Romance of the Table in Three Parts, New Brunswick, NJ: New Jersey Times, 1872. This novel is available on line as part of the Making of America project: {Romance of the Table}

Pen, Pencil Pictures on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, New York, NY: W.H. Caldwell, 1874

The Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations, New York, NY: Funk and Wagnals, 1882

William Lackland

On February 20, 1869  D. Appleton (N.Y.), published an unauthorized (pirate) edition of Five Weeks in a Balloon translated by  the fictitious “William Lackland”, the first fully illustrated edition of a Verne novel in English. The illustrations for this volume were carefully re-engraved in America from the French originals with the original engraver’s names removed. This translation has been republished in most American editions of this work. “William Lackland” also published articles in Appletons’ Journal: a magazine of general literature (1869) {MOA}, and may also have contributed a review to this journal with a partial translation in To the Centre of the Earth, from the French of Jules Verne, May 1st, 1869. His Verne translation is:

I.  *Five Weeks in a Balloon; or journeys and discoveries in Africa, by three Englishmen. Compiled in French by J. Verne from the original notes of dr. Ferguson; and done into English by William Lackland [pseud.] 345 pp. 6 pl. D. Appleton & co.; New York: 1869

His possible review/translation is:

II. *To the Centre of the Earth, in Appletons’ Journal: a Magazine of General Literature, Volume 1, Issue 5 at page 142-146 in the issue of May 1, 1869, the first appearance of any part of this work in English.  

His other known book translation is:

Meteors, Aerolites, Storms, and Atmospheric Phenomena; From the French of Zürcher and Margoleé.  By William Lackland, Illustrated with 23 fine woodcuts by Lebreton, D. Appleton and Company, New York: 1870

The scene now shifts to England where there began a rush to get Verne novels into print. In October, 1871, Griffith & Farran in the U.K. published Journey to the Centre of the Earth by an anonymous translator which sold for the then enormous sum of £7. This was the first illustrated edition of a Verne work in England. It is also one of the most corrupt translations.

In 1871 after the Franco-Prussian war Sampson Low made an agreement with Hetzel & Co. to be the “authorized publisher” of Jules Verne in English, (later interpreted to include the U.S.) thus giving them a monopoly on all future Verne works and in particular the illustrations.

Lewis Page Mercier; Eleanor E. King

For their first work Sampson Low & Co. chose Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas published in November, 1872, with the translator Rev. Lewis Page Mercier, (1820-1875) B.A. Oxon.,1841, M.A. 1855. Born in 09 JAN 1820 (Christening: 07 FEB 1820 Old Church, Saint Pancras, London), Mercier came of French Huguenot stock; his grandfather was pastor of the French Protestant church in Threadneedle St. London, his father was active in educational activities. He almost certainly spoke French at home as a child, and may have been one of the few native French speakers to translate Verne. The family was located in the London borough of Hackney, home of the original silk industry of French mercers (=  fr. mercier). In 1837 he entered Trinity College, Oxford, where he was the College Latin Essayist. He received a Third in “Greats” (Greek and Latin) and obtained a post-graduate bursary at University College, Oxford, the “Browne Exhibition”, established by one Browne in 1587. Foregoing an academic but at the time necessarily celibate career, he gave up his exhibition to marry Anna Marie Hovell in 1841. He became a deacon in 1842 and a presbyter in 1845.

His first posting was to Glasgow where he was Assistant Minister of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Chapel, 2nd master of the Glasgow College School, and Chaplain to the Garrison, after which he moved on to be 2nd Master at a new school in Edgbaston near Birmingham (1846) and headmaster (1849). In 1857 he moved back to Hackney becoming headmaster at the St. John’s Foundation School and Assistant Reader at the Chapel of the Foundling Hospital in nearby Brunswick Square. In 1861 we find him living at the school at age 41, head of a family of 9 children (ages 1,2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15), numerous servants and 25 pupils. Relieved of his position by the Governing Board in 1861, he then became Chaplain at the Chapel of the Foundling Hospital, then one of the most important charitable institutions in England.

The Foundling Hospital was the first public charity in England, established in 1739 by a Royal Charter granted by King George II and Queen Caroline. The buildings were erected on 53 acres purchased by Thomas Coram the ship captain who sponsored its establishment. Early benefactors were the painter Hogarth and George Friedrich Handel who played at the opening and conducted the Messiah every year thereafter. Well known artists contributed paintings, and the Foundling Hospital became the first picture gallery in the country. Church services at the chapel with famous preachers, famous musicians, a professional choir and organist attracted large crowds of the most well connected people in London throughout the century. The buildings were torn down in 1926 to make way for a fish market which was never built.

In 1865 Lewis Mercier suddenly found it necessary to borrow £250 secured by a bond from Lord Leigh of Stoneleigh (Warwickshire), the wealthiest landowner in England, at the rate of 12% per annum. (Lord Leigh had appointed him “Provincial Grand Chaplain to the Freemasons, Warwickshire in 1852.) By 1870, in ill health and unable to repay his debt when it came due, he was forced in extremis to seek extra funds by translating for Sampson Low, who were in the process of printing a religious book of his.

Mercier offered one great advantage to Sampson Low: speed. A native French speaker, an excellent linguist, fluent in several languages, with the aid of his assistant Eleanor Elizabeth King (1838 — ??) he was able to translate four novels in little over a year in his spare time, enabling Sampson Low to come out with a new Verne book for the Christmas trade in 1872 and 1873. To avoid a conflict of interest with his position as Chaplain, Mercier wrote under the pen names of “Mercier Lewis, M.A., Oxon.” And “Louis Mercier”. Mercier has been pilloried in America for decades for the 20% deletions in the text of his translations, but in view of his desperate financial situation it is more than likely that the deletions were either performed or dictated by his editors at Sampson Low. We shall never know for sure as the offices of Sampson Low in Fleet Street were completely destroyed by the bombing of London in December, 1940. There is also internal evidence to indicate that editors made changes to Mercier’s translation even in press; an even more drastically cut version of 20,000 Leagues (175 pp.) was published by Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd. in the early 1900’s.

The following are the Verne books translated by Lewis Mercier:

I. · Twenty thousand Leagues under the Sea, Sampson Low et al.: Nov., 1872

II. · From the Earth to the Moon and a Trip Around It, Sampson Low et al.: Oct., 1873

III. Around the World in Eighty Days. Falsely attributed to Lewis Mercier. The only reason for this attribution is the 1962 edition in England by Collier and in the U.S. by Doubleday of a “Junior Deluxe Edition” attributing the translation to “Mercier Lewis”. The book is in fact a simply a bowdlerized version of Towle’s 1873 translation.

Mercier also translated The Wreck of the Hansa, (The German Arctic expedition of 1869-70), Sampson Low et al.: 1874, as well as publishing several religious works and instructional works for teachers of Greek and Latin. He was forced to resign his position at the Foundling Hospital by the Governing Board in early 1873 after troubles arose over his supervision of the schools, and he died on Tuesday November 2nd, 1875, the date his semi-annual payment of  £15 to Lord Leigh was due. His other publications are:

A Manual of Greek Prosody. / Mercier, Lewis Page.-- 12 vo, Glasgow, 1843.

Selections from Æsop, Xenophon, and Anacreon, for the use of junior forms in schools. / Mercier, Lewis Page.-- 12 vo, London, 1851.

The Present European Crisis viewed in its relation to Prophecy; a sermon [on Rev. xxii. 10], etc. / Mercier, Lewis Page.-- 8 vo, London, 1853.

The Principles of Christian Charity derived from the example of our Saviour and His Apostles. / Mercier, Lewis Page.-- 8 vo, London, 1855.

Considerations respecting a future state, an essay / Mercier, Lewis Page.-- 8 vo, London, Oxford: 1858

“The Christian and the Harvest.” A sermon [on Matt. iv. 4], etc. / Mercier, Lewis Page.-- 8 vo, London, 1860.

“The Mystery of God’s Providence.” A sermon [on Eccl. vii.  15] preached ... Dec. 22, 1861, on the occasion of the death of H. R. H. the Prince Consort. / Mercier, Lewis Page; Albert, Prince Consort of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.-- London, [1861.]

“The Eucharistic Feast.” A brief historical inquiry into the true nature of the Lord’s Supper. / Mercier, Lewis Page.-- 8 vo, London, 1868.

Outlines of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ : with critical and expository notes, and an emendation of the common chronologies / by the Rev. Lewis Mercier.-- London : Sampson Low, Marston, Low & Searle, 1871, 1872

The German Arctic Expedition of 1869-70, and narrative of the wreck of the “Hansa” in the ice. By Captain Koldewey ... assisted by members of the scientific staff. With ... illustrations. Translated and abridged by the Rev. L. Mercier; and edited by H. W. Bates. ;-- London : Sampson Low, Marston, Low & Searle, 1874

The British Museum. An impartial statement, in answer to a pamphlet [by Stephen Poles] entitled ‘The Actual Condition of the British Museum.’ By M. A. [i.e. L. P. Mercier.] / A., M. ; Mercier, Lewis Page ; Poles, Stephan ; London : Spottiswoode & Co., 1875.

Ellen Elizabeth Frewer

While Mercier was translating Twenty Thousand Leagues, Sampson Low proceeded with the translation of their next Verne novel, Meridiana, The Adventures of Three Englishmen and Three Russians in South Africa, engaging for this the services of Ellen Elizabeth Frewer (1848 — 1901+). Miss Frewer was the daughter of George Frewer and Elizabeth Lydia Frewer. George Frewer attended St. John’s College, Cambridge with a B.A., 1844 in mathematics and M.A. 1847. He was a Church of England clergyman, a 2nd Mathematics Master at Eton College (1844-1873) and then Rector of Hitcham, Maidenhead at a salary of £490. Born in 1848 in Slough, Miss Frewer was christened 27 Feb 1848 in Upton Cum Chalvey, Buckingham, England. In 1871 she was living with her family at 91 Common Lane, Eton College. She was educated at Queen’s College, London, where she passed with honors the Cambridge local examinations. Schooled in both French and German, she was only 23 when she started translating for Sampson Low. She also showed spirit in translating under her own name, treading on that Victorian code of respectability which required that young ladies of good breeding should not be involved in “business”. Unfortunately Meridiana was published the same month as Twenty Thousand Leagues and so attracted little attention. Ms. Frewer however continued translating Verne novels for the next ten years; coming from a family of means she may have been able to exert control over her published works which comprise largely uncut translations of the original Verne, although she does add a few niceties of her own. She continued to live with her family until after 1901 and does not appear to have married. Her Verne translations are:

I. Meridiana; The Adventures of Three Englishmen and Three Russians in South Africa, Sampson Low et al.: 1872 (? 1876)

II. The Survivors of the Chancellor; and Martin Paz, Sampson Low et al.: 1875

III. Hector Servadac, Sampson Low et al.: 1877

IV. Dick Sands; the Boy Captain, Sampson Low et al.: 1878

V. The Tribulations of a Chinaman in China, Sampson Low et al.: 1880

Ms. Frewer also translated several books of exotic travel and adventure for Sampson Low up until 1882 and a life of Victor Hugo listed below:

The Heart of Africa: Three Years’ Travels and Adventures in the Unexplored Regions of the Centre of Africa, 1868-71, by Dr. George Schweinfurth. Illust. and Maps, London, 1873, 2 vols 8v0. (Translated from the German).

The Adventures of Captain Mago; or a Phoenician Expedition, B.C. 1000, by Leon Calum. Illust. London, 1876, 8vo.

Seven Years in South Africa: Travels, Researches, and Hunting Adventures between the Diamond-fields and the Zambesi, (1872-1879), by Dr. Emil Hobub, with 200 original illustrations and a Map. London, 1881, 2 vols 8vo, with an introduction by Winwood Reade. “Emil Holub’s compelling ambition was to follow in the footsteps of David Livingstone and, specifically, to reach Luanda by way of the Zambesi valley and across Angola.” (Translated from the German)

Victor Hugo and his Times, by Alfred Barbou; illustrated with 120 drawings by Émile Bayard, Clerget, Fichel, Jules Garnier [et al] and a great number of drawings by Victor Hugo, engraved by Méaulle ;  London, 1882, 8vo, Translated from the French.

Nancy Regina Emily Meugens

For their next book, The Fur Country, Sampson Low turned to Nancy Regina Emily Meugens, (1844-1933). Nancy Meugens was born 2 Sep 1844 in Lambeth, Surrey. She wrote under the nom de plume of “N. D’Anvers” until her marriage in 1882, after which she used the name of “Mrs. Arthur Bell”. Her father, Pierre Joseph Meugens, was born (1808) in Belgium. Her pseudonym is of course easily understood as referring to “Nancy D’Anvers = Nancy from Antwerp”. Les pays de fourrures was published in France 19 June 1873; Meugens completed the translation in October, 1873, and Sampson Low published it with 100 illustrations in November, one month after the French  edition. The long wait for English Verne novels was over. Her Verne translations are:

I. The Fur Country, Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle:1873, (her first published work at age 28), reprinted by James Osgood, Boston: 1873.

II. The Great Navigators of the XIX’th Century, Sampson Low, Marston, Low, Searle and Rivington: 1880.

III. The Blockade Runners, Sampson Low, et al.: 1874; ascribed in some editions to “N. D’Anvers”.

IV. Around the World in Eighty Days, Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle: 1873; listed there (erroneously, N.W.) to George Towle and “N. D’Anvers”. This last book is almost certainly the sole work of George Towle; Meugens may have performed some editorial work. A critical examination of the American and English editions is required.

In 1882 Ms. Meugens married the London landscape painter Arthur George Bell (1849-1916), who illustrated several of her books. These lithographs are the sole remnant of his artistic work. An ardent catholic, she continued to publish numerous religious, travel, and art history books until 1920.

In 1902 Mrs. Bell was approached by the publishers George Bell & Sons to write a biography of James McNeil Whistler, the painter. There is a collection of 24 letters regarding this project, of which Whistler strongly disapproved, regarding Mrs. Bell’s attempt to obtain permission to include photographs of some of Whistler’s paintings in her book. The  24 letters of this correspondence are available at the Centre for Whistler Studies at the University of {Glasgow} Glasgow involving Whistler and Charles Freer, the American collector who acquired Whistler’s famous “Peacock Room” for the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C. The biography was eventually published after Whistler’s death in 1904.

She died at her home in Rastgarth, Southbourne-on-Sea, Hampshire on 30 Aug 1933. At that time she was one of the two surviving translators of Verne who had worked for Sampson Low. (Note in press: the dates for William John Gordon have not yet been determined.) A selection of her other publications follows:

Elementary history of art : An introduction to ancient and modern architecture, sculpture, painting, music,  by N. D’Anvers [pseud.] With a preface by T. Roger Smith.-- London : Asher & Co., 1874

The house on wheels; or, Far from home,  from the French of Mme. De Stolz by N. D’Anvers.-- London: 1874

To the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi / Tr. from the German of Edward Mohr, by N. D.’Anvers.-- S. Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington, London : 1876

Heroes of South African discovery  by N. D’Anvers [pseud.].-- Marcus Ward and Company, London : 1878

Pre-historic America  by the Marquis de Nadaillac ; translated by N. d’Anvers [pseud.] ; edited by W.H. Dall.-- J. Murray, London : 1885

Discovery of lakes Rudolf and Stefanie : a narrative of Count Samuel Teleki’s exploring & hunting expedition in Eastern Equatorial Africa in 1887 & 1888, by his companion Lieut. Ludwig von Höhnel ; translated by Nancy Bell (N. d’Anvers) ... With 179 original illustrations and 5 coloured maps. In two volumes.-- Longmans, Green, London : 1894

French enterprise in Africa : the personal narrative of Lieut. Hourst of his exploration of the Niger , translated by Mrs. Arthur Bell (N. D’Anvers).-- Chapman & Hall, London : 1898

James McNeill Whistler. [With plates, including a portrait.] by Mrs. Arthur Bell /N. D’Anvers, George Bell, London: 1904

George Makepeace Towle

In early 1873 the American publisher James Osgood of Boston, Mass., collaborated with George Makepeace Towle (1841-1893) for the publication of a translation of Around the World in Eighty Days, which had just been published in France. George Towle (27 Aug 1841 — 9 Aug 1893) was born in Washington, D. C., the only son of Nathaniel Carter and Eunice (Makepeace) Towle. He was graduated in arts from Yale in 1861, and in law at Harvard Law School in 1863. He practiced law in Boston till 1865, when he became associate editor of the Boston Post, and in 1866 he published the first of his many books, a popular work called Glimpses of History. In 1866 he was appointed United States Consul at Nantes, France. After serving there for two years he was transferred to the consulate in Bradford, England. While in Europe he acquired a command of French that he utilized as a translator of Jules Verne and other popular writers in that language, and gained a knowledge of European politics of which he made literary use. One of his many prominent friends was Charles Dickens, to whose periodical, All The Year Round, he contributed many articles on American affairs. In 1870 he published a book, American Society (2 vols.), in London.

In Boston he commenced the translating of Verne, ushering in a period in which the English translations appeared almost as soon as the French editions were published. The French edition of Le tour du Monde en quatre-vingt jours was published 30 Jan 1873 and by 7 July 1873 Osgood had already had published Towle’s translation. Osgood evidently had made an arrangement with Sampson Low, as Low used Towle’s translation of Eighty Days and Osgood used Low’s Fur Country. The year 1873 marked a high point for the appearance of Verne in English, with no fewer than four new novels appearing in time for the Christmas season.

Towle continued to translate the Verne novels for James Osgood, until the bankruptcy of the firm in 1876. The translations are of a uniformly high quality, though he does use rather florid Victorian language (such as “Teutons” for “Germans”). His Verne translations are:

I. Around the World in Eighty Days, James Osgood, Boston: 1873, reprinted by Sampson Low.

II. Dr. Ox and Other Stories, including Master Zacharius, A Drama in the Air, and A Winter amid the Ice, James Osgood: 1874, reprinted by Sampson Low, 1874.

III. The Wreck of the Chancellor; Martin Paz, James Osgood: 1874.

After returning to America Towle continued actively in the literary life of Boston publishing over 50 books and articles and giving public lectures on topics of the day. On 16 Sep 1866, he was married in Paris to Nellie Lane of Boston, who survived him. He died in Brookline after a long illness culminating in paralysis of the brain, and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery. He had no children. [American National Biography, Cyclopedia of American Biography]

Stephen W. White, William Struthers

Stephen W. White and William Struthers translated several of Verne’s books which were printed first in the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph and later in double column newspaper books. Unlike Towle and some of the English translators who had literary pretensions and used Verne as a stepping stone to further literary activity, Stephen White was a commercial translator of legal documents. He maintained an office at 114 South Third St., a few doors from the Evening Telegraph, and advertised in that paper that he was a "Phonographer and Translator" who "will furnish on short notice and at reasonable terms, Phonographic reports and Translations of German and French legal and other documents." He translated as he would a legal document, literally with no embellishments.


1. Advertisement of Stephen W. White in Philadelphia Evening Telegraph

Thus the translations are mainly word for word translations of the French, although the latter part of Mysterious Island suffers some editorial cuts. However White’s translation of Mysterious Island does contain the only contemporary  accurate rendition of the death of Nemo in Volume III and retains the correct character names. Struthers may have been a co-worker to whom White assigned the shorter work Soujourn in the Ice. His (and Struther’s) Verne books are:

I. * The Tour of the World in Eighty Days, tr. by Stephen W. White,  Philadelphia Evening Telegraph: June 27, 1874--July 17, 1874; reprinted by Charles E. Warburton (Bound together with II.)

II. A Fancy of Doctor Ox , tr. by Stephen W. White, Philadelphia Evening Telegraph,  June 20, 1874: reprinted by Warburton, (Bound together with I.)

III. * A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, tr. by Stephen W. White, Philadelphia Evening Telegraph: Sept. 12, 1874--Oct. 5, 1874, reprinted by Warburton. (Bound together with IV.)

IV. A Winter’s Sojourn in the Ice, tr. by William Struthers, Philadelphia Evening Telegraph: Oct. 6, 1874--Oct. 10, 1874, reprinted by Charles E. Warburton. (Bound together with III.)

V. *Mysterious Island, Philadelphia Evening Telegraph: 1876, republished Project Gutenberg: 2003 (N. Wolcott and Sidney Kravitz, eds.)

Abby Langdon Alger

Abby Langford Alger (1850—1907) was the oldest daughter of the Reverend William Rounseville Alger(1822-1905) and Anne Langdon Lodge Alger She was a cousin of Horatio Alger, Jr., the author of many children's books. She was born August 3, 1850 in Roxbury, MA and died May 23, 1907 in Brookline, MA. An accomplished linguist as was her father, a graduate of Harvard College, she was the eldest of seven siblings, many of whom were well known in their respective fields.[2] Her only Verne translation, From the Clouds to the Mountains, (Doctor Ox) is written down for the American audience, leaving out place and river names and referring to the Flemish as "Dutch" for example. Included is a translation of the Fortieth French Ascent of Mont Blanc by Paul Verne.

I. From the Clouds to the Mountains, Compelling Narratives of Strange Adventures by Air, Land, and Water, William F. Gill and Company, Boston: 1874

Some of her other translations are:

Life of Robert Schuman, by J. W. von Wasielowsky, Boston: 1871

Reading as a Fine Art, by Ernest Legouvé, Boston: 1879

Mischief Book, from the German of W. Busch, Boston: 1879

The Actor and his Art, from the French of C.Coquelin, Boston: 1881

The Usurper, an Episode in Japanese History, by Judith Gautier, Boston: 1884

The Life and Works of Robert Schuman, by A. Reissmann, London: 1886

The Little Flower of St. Francis of Assissi, from the Italian with a brief account of the life of St. Francis, Boston: 1887

 

Frederick Amadeus Malleson

In the mid 1870’s the publishers Ward, Lock, and Tyler and George Routledge and Sons commissioned new translations of some of Verne’s books which were a great improvement on the early mis-translations of Griffith & Farran and Sampson Low. The first of these was Frederick Amadeus Malleson (1819-1897).

Frederick Amadeus Malleson was born in 1819. He was graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, B.A. 1853 and M.A. 1860. He was ordained a deacon in 1853. In 1870 he acquired the living at the church of Broughton-in-Furness, Lancashire, (net income of £130) a small town in the Lake District near Ulverston, remaining in this peaceful corner until his death in 1897. In 1871 the population was 1255. A local history in 1882 said “The principal trade of the place now consists in the making of hoops and baskets (locally called swills), brushstocks and rake and fork shafts, the material being supplied from the coppice wood which abounds in the Furness fells. . . Broughton Church, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, is of ancient foundation. . . A tablet in the Church records that the living was endowed in 1766 with lands purchased with £400, The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of James Sawrey Cookson, Esq., J.P., and in the incumbency of the Rev. F. A. Malleson, M.A.” In 1881 he was living at the Vicarage with his wife Lucy, 3 nieces, and a sister-in-law.

Malleson’s first literary efforts were translations from the French, the first in 1875 being Brigadier Frederic: a story of an Alsacian Exile. [Translated by F. A. Malleson.] by Émile Erckmann and Pierre Alexandre Chatrian. Apparently intrigued by these two authors he also translated their The Man-Wolf and Other Tales. [1876]. The same year A Journey into the Interior of the Earth appeared,  published by Ward, Lock, and Tyler. As with other clergymen, Malleson avoided his own name in publishing these non-religious books, signing only the preface with “F.A.M.”

He published and edited several religious works and a travel book on Wordsworth’s Switzerland. He was a friend and correspondent of John Ruskin; their correspondence has been published in two volumes. His Verne translations are:

I. · Five Weeks in a Balloon, Ward, Lock, and Tyler: 1875 [The author questions this attribution to F.A.M. Although listed in bibliographies, the style is totally foreign to that of II.]

II. * A Journey into the Interior of the Earth, Ward, Lock, and Tyler: 1876. Republished Project Gutenberg, 2001. (N. Wolcott, ed.)

His translation of Interior of the Earth is careful and accurate; he indicated such was his desire in the preface. Changes for religious reasons are only a few lines where Verne discusses the “creation”. Some of his other works are:

Doddridge’s Rise & Progress of Religion in the Soul. / Doddridge, Philip ; Malleson, Frederick Amadeus.-- London, J. B. Bateman: 1842.

Brigadier Frederic: a Story of an Alsatian Exile. Erckmann, Émile, and Chatrian, Pierre Alexandre, [tr. by F. A. M.]; London, Smith Elder & Co.: 1875.

The Man-Wolf and Other Tales. Erckmann, Émile, and Chatrian, Pierre Alexandre; tr. by F. A. M.; Ward, Lock, and Tyler: 1876.

Letters addressed by Professor Ruskin, D.C.L., to the clergy on the Lord’s prayer and the Church / edited by F. A. Malleson.-- s.l. : Printed for private circulation, [1879]

Jesus Christ, his life and his work. / Malleson, Frederick Amadeus -- London, Ward, Lock & Co.: 1880.

The Lord’s prayer and the church : letters to the clergy / by John Ruskin; edited, with essays and comments, by the Rev. F.A.  Malleson....-- London, Strahan and Company:  1880.

Holiday Studies of Wordsworth by Rivers, Woods, and Alps : the Wharfe, the Duddon, and the Stelvio Pass / by Rev. F.A. Malleson.-- London ; Paris : Cassell and Co., [1890]

Henry Frith

Henry Frith (1840 — 1910) was born in Dublin, Ireland, educated at Cheltenham College, and entered Trinity College, Dublin, July 1st, 1857 with the aim of studying for the profession of civil engineer. His father, also Henry Frith, worked for the Ordnance Office in Dublin.

His civil service appointment came however from the War Office. He remained there until 1875 when he retired on a pension and subsequently devoted himself to literature. Presumably an agnostic his translations are free from Victorian religious overtones. One of his first literary efforts was the translation of Vingt mille lieues sur les mers (1876). With his scientific background he understood much of what Verne had written, and this translation has remained one of the best of the time with only minor deletions from the original text. He revised Kingston’s translation[3] of Swiss Family Robinson and published his own later with 200 woodcut and coloured engravings (1878). He published works on graphology and palmistry, his Chiromancy; or, The Science of Palmistry ran to 17 editions. His published translations, novels, and instructional titles on electricity and steam engines amount to nearly 200. In 1881 he was living in Battersea Rise, Hatfield House, Battersea, Surrey with his wife Mary, two daughters, two sons and three servants. He described his occupation as “Author Editor Publisher’s Reader”. With no ties to the Church of Englandhe did not omit material, although his trnslations are not immune from the occasional blunder. His Verne translations are:

I. *Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Geo. Routledge and Sons: 1876

II. The Floating City and the Blockade Runners, Geo. Routledge and Sons: 1876

III. The Adventures of three Englishmen and three Russians in Southern Africa ...Translated by H. Frith. / Verne, Jules ; Frith, Henry.-- Routledge and Sons: 1877

IV. Round the World in Eighty Days, George Routledge and Sons: 1878

V. The Fur Country, George Routledge and Sons: 1879

Some of his publications are:

The adventures of Johnny Ironsides A tale : By J. Girardin With 117 illustrations by Emile Bayard Translated by Henry Frith / Girardin, Jules, 1832-1888 ; Bayard, Emile, illus., 1868- ; Frith, Henry, tr., 1840-.-- London : and New York George Routledge and Sons, [1875] ; New York

The Corsican Brothers ... Translated by H. Frith. / Dumas, Alexandre, the Elder ; Frith, Henry.-- London : George Routledge & Sons, 1880.

Chiromancy or the science of palmistry : being a concise exposition of the principles and practice of the art of reading the hand, by which the past, the present, and the future may be explained and foretold ... / Illustrated by Dora Noyes.-- London, 1883

Unac, the Indian, a tale of adventure  in America  Central / adapted from the French by Henry Frith.-- London, 1884

A guide to the study of graphology with an explanation of some of the mysteries of handwriting / Frith, Henry.-- London, 1886

Half hours of scientific amusement : practical physics and chemistry without apparatus / translated from the French of Gaston Tissandier by Henry Frith.-- London ; New York : Ward, Lock, 1890

The Romance of Navigation: a brief record of maritime discovery from the earliest times to the 18th century ... With ... illustrations. / Frith, Henry.-- London : Ward & Lock, 1893.

Practical Palmistry. A treatise on Chirosophy based upon actual experience ... With numerous illustrations, etc. / Frith, Henry.-- London : Ward, Lock & Co., 1895.

Thomas H. Linklater

Thomas H. Linklater (1849—??) was born in London. In 1871 he was living with his brother, Robert Linklater, in Beckenham, Kent, Chaplain at Abbey Park, and he listed his occupation as accountant. By 1877 he had translated the two Moon Novels, and in 1881 we find him at the Mission House, 16 Marston St., Cowley, Oxfordshire,  a religious hostel attached to Cowley St. John, listing himself as a “Lay brother”. His brother Robert was also staying there, now a clergyman, listed as “Mission Priest, Ch of Eng without C?”. A number of visiting American clergymen were also staying there. The census taker’s comments were “not missionaries in sense of work sheet”. In 1901 Robert was living in Hornsey, Middlesex, with his wife Mary C. Linklater, his sister-in-law, and 3 servants. Thomas may have become a missionary.

His translation, probably the best of the time,  is:

I. *From the Earth to the Moon Direct and Round the Moon, George Routledge and Sons: 1877

Edward Roth

Edward Roth (1826—1911) was born in England, and emigrated to the United States about 1845. At some later time he became an instructor at the Broad Street Academy in Philadelphia where he was still living in 1910.  His Verne translations are :

I.  The Baltimore Gun Club, King and Baird, Philadelphia: 1874

II.   All Around the Moon,  Philadelphia, Catholic Publication Society: 1876

III. To the Sun? a Journey through Planetary Space, Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger, Philadelphia: 1877

IV.  Off on a Comet, a Journey through Planetary Space, a sequel to To the Sun?, Claxton, Remsen and Haffelfinger, Philadelphia: 1878

Although Roth's translations were more paraphrases (some would say parodies) than translations, his All Around the Moon does contain the first explanation of the calculation of the initial speed of the projectile and the correct printing of the last equation in Chapter IV which is incorrectly printed in all other versions of this book, French and English. These translations probably would have subsided into the mists of history had not Dover Publications revived them in 1960. The Dover editions however have some of the best reproductions of the original Hetzel woodcuts available. Roth's  other publications are:

Life of Napoleon III., Emperor of the French, Boston, P. Donahoe: 1856

Christus Judex. A traveller's tale, ( A Tale of the White Mountains) Frederick Leypoldt, Philadelphia: 1864. Online version at http://purl.dlib.indiana.edu/iudl/wright2/wright2-2129

The Rescue of France, by C.F.B. Miel, tr. Edward Roth, Philadelphia, King & Baird, printers: 1872.

Short Geography, Philadelphia, Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger: 1876

The art of reading, by Ernest Legouvé ... Translated, and illustrated with copious notes, by Edward Roth, Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott & Co.: 1885

Gray Tigers of Smithville, Philadelphia, W. F. Fell & Co.: 1887

Conversational French and English; an elementary knowledge of both languages taught by thorough practice in the grammatical principles of each ... Philadelphia,  J. B. Lippincott: 1899

Select Orations of Lysias, Philadelphia, D. McKay: 1899

Sherlock Holmes (Conan Doyle's famous creation), quelques chapitres de sa vie, a few chapters of his life; avec questions et re´ponnses, with questions and answers. Philadelphia, E. Roth:1902

Conversational French, especially intended for self-instruction, schools, families, or American desirous of becoming French teachers. First year. Philadelphia, E. Roth: 1903.

In 1893 Roth auctioned off his library and his collection of "philosophical instruments"; the auction took four days! The catalogue of his  sale is in the New York Public Library:

Valuable private library : belonging to Prof. Edward Roth, of Phila. comprising a general assortment of works in the various branches of literature : also a large collection of philosophical instruments, to be sold ... May 8, 9, 10, and 11, 1893 ... sale conducted by Stan. V. Henkels ...

Agnes Kinloch Kingston, William Henry Giles Kingston

With the appearance of the three parts of L’Ile Mysterieuse, Sampson Low turned from relatively unknown translators to the well known William Henry Giles Kingston (1814—1880). Kingston was a famous juvenile author, having published over a hundred adventure books for boys since the 1840’s. His writings occupy nine pages and a half of the British Museum Catalogue. They were very popular; his tales were quite innocuous, but most of them proved ephemeral; and today he is only remembered for the translations of Mysterious Island and Michael Strogoff.

He was born in London on the 28th of February 1814. Much of his youth was spent at Oporto, Portugal, where his father was a merchant, but when he entered the business, he made his headquarters in London. He early wrote newspaper articles on Portuguese subjects. These were translated into Portuguese, and the author received a Portuguese order of knighthood and a pension for his services in the conclusion of the commercial treaty of 1842. In 1844 he started writing adventure novels. These books proved so popular that Kingston retired from business, and devoted himself to the production of tales of adventure for boys. Within thirty years he wrote upwards of one hundred and thirty such books. He had a practical knowledge of seamanship, and his stories of the sea, full of thrilling adventures and hairbreadth escapes, exactly hit the taste of his boy readers.

He took an interest in philanthropic activities ; he was a zealous volunteer and worked actively for the improvement of the condition of seamen and acted as secretary of a society for promoting an improved system of emigration.

In 1853 he married Agnes Kinloch (1824—1913) and spent his honeymoon in Canada. He founded Kingston’s Magazine for Boys (1859-62). In addition to instructional articles written by Kingston, “ ...it also contained a number of translations , and although they bore his name they were actually the work of his wife, Agnes, a competent linguist. She also translated The Swiss Family Robinson [1877-NMW] from the German and a number of  separately published stories by Jules Verne, all of which cite her husband as translator. ... Kingston suffered serious financial difficulties with a family of eight children to support. In 1868 he applied for and was awarded grants of £50 and £100, from the Royal Literary Fund, and was virtually bankrupt. His poor health and reduced circumstances caused him to become a recluse in later life.” [4]

In 1942 Rev. R. M. Kingsford inherited the literary estate of the Kingston family on the death of the last surviving son of W. H. G. Kingston. The estate included the diaries of both Kingston and his wife Agnes. From these we learn that “Agnes Kingston sang well, was an accomplished musician, had been taught art in the art galleries of the Continent, and spoke French and German fluently.”[5] Although the participation of Mrs. Kingston in her husband’s work was generally known, and indeed would have been expected, in the late 19th century, it was not until the 1940’s with Kingsford’s access to the diaries that it became known that all of the translations, Swiss Family Robinson, Mysterious Island, and the rest were totally the work of Mrs. Kingston. Mrs. Kingston’s obituary in the Times, May 28, 1913 in fact states “Mrs. Kingston . . . often assisted her husband in his literary work . . . and  she herself undertook the translation from the German of an edition of Swiss Family Robinson and from the French of several of the works of Jules Verne”,[6]  information which seems to have been forgotten in the current Verne Renaissance.

The translations have a certain flair and make for good reading, but they often are not too literal and dates and times may get confused. Knowing as we do that Mrs. Kingston only entered into the Verne translations out of financial necessity as did Lewis Mercier, it is almost certain that Sampson Low was responsible for the deletion  the entire portion of Mysterious Island Volume III dealing with the death of Captain Nemo where Nemo was revealed  as a freedom fighter against the British occupation of India. The name changes were also undoubtedly dictated by the editors; changing the hero’s name from “Smith” to “Harding”. “Smith” was a name used by gypsies and not a suitable name for a Victorian hero.

W.H.G. Kingston died at his home Stormont, Willesden on the 5th of August 1880. Mrs. Kingston died May 27, 1913, in the village of Hutten in Essex where she resided. [Dictionary of National Biography, 1920, 2004, Kingsford, 1947.]

The works translated by Agnes Kinloch Kingston in her husband’s name are:

I. The Mysterious Island, Sampson Low et. al., 3 volumes: 1875, reprinted by Scribner, Armstrong, & Co., New York, 1 volume: 1876

II. Michael Strogoff, Sampson Low et al.: 1876, reprinted by Scribner, Armstrong, & Co., “revised by Julius Chambers”: 1877

III. The Child of the Cavern; or Strange Doings Underground, Sampson Low et al.: 1877

IV. The Begum’s Fortune; with an account of the Mutineers of the Bounty, Sampson Low et al.: 1879, reprinted by J. B. Lippincott: 1879

Agnes Kinloch Kingston, Agnes Dundas Kingston

Agnes Dundas Kingston (1856 — 1886), the daughter of W.H.G. Kingston,  was born in Blackheath, Kent. In 1881 she was living with her mother, Agnes Kinloch Kingston, in a household of 12 persons including three sons and two other daughters in the family home Stormont, Willesden, Middlesex. With the publication of The Begum’s Fortune in November, 1879, Sampson Low no doubt entered into an arrangement with W.H.G. Kingston for the translation of  The Steam House which appeared in French starting December, 1879. With the death of W.H.G. Kingston in August of 1880 it was no longer possible to continue the fiction of W.H.G. Kingston as translator, and Mrs. Kingston had probably already completed part of the translation.

Sampson Low were no doubt aware of Mrs. Kingston’s participation if not sole authorship of her husband’s  translations, and with their usual cavalier attitude to the attachment of names of translators on their books, agreed to continue the project under the name of Agnes Dundas Kingston, her daughter. Mrs. Kingston could not publish under her own name, as that would have raised immediate question as to the authorship of the previous translations; in any event a wife was not supposed to work, but a daughter could well serve as a useful nom de plume. There is a footnote in Volume II of the Steam House absolving the "translators" from any responsibility for Verne's descriptions of the Sepoy rebellion. The use of the word "translators" at a minimum indicates a collaborative effort of Mrs. Kingston with her daughter.

The only published work attributed to Agnes Dundas Kingston is the translation of La maison à vapeur when she was age 24. She died young at age 30. Embarrassing sections relating to the British occupation of India have been redacted or varnished over in this version but the Sepoy rebellion is covered in full. The Verne translation is

I. The Demon of Cawnpore, pt 1 of The Steam House, Sampson Low et al.: 1880.

II. Tigers and Traitors, pt 2 of The Steam House, Sampson Low et al.: 1881

Emma Garrison

Emma Garrison (1833 — 1898) published numerous “Dime Novels” under the name of Emma Garrison and her married name Emma Garrison Jones, but her Verne translations were under the name of E. G. Walraven. [The "E.G." obviously refers to "Emma Garrison", and the "Walraven" perhaps a literary allusion to Poe's "Raven". —NMW] She was born in the town of Garrisonville, Virginia, now a Washington, D.C. commuter town just south of the Quantico Marine Corps Base, but until the 1950's a rural farming community in north Stafford County. She is the only translator of Verne to have lived in Washington, D.C. The following biographical extract is from The House of Beadle and Adams and its dime and nickel novels; the story of a vanished literature, by Albert Johannsen, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 3 vol., 1950-62.

 

{ . . . Emma Garrison was born in Garrisonville, Virginia, December 25, 1833, a daughter of John R. (1804-1880) and Frances Garrison (1803-1884). She spent her girlhood days in Garrisonville but later, when she won a prize of $60 for a story published in The Dollar Newspaper, January 11, 1860, she was announced as "an unknown author from Fredericksburg, Virginia." Apparently she did not live there, for in the same periodical, October 24, 1860, she had a poem, dated from Garrisonville. Her first serial, "Zaidee; or, The Ruby Cross," was begun in the issue for September 12, 1860.

She went to Washington, D. C. in the early 1860's, and while there met and married Nicholas W. Jones (December 9, 1833-December 26, 1919) some time late in 1862 or early in 1863. She was writing voluminously about this time for Peterson's Magazine, The New York Ledger, and the Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. Some time afterwards she and her family returned to Garrisonville to live with her aged parents, and they were still there in 1882, for in January of that year, when she entered into a contract with Norman L. Munro to write only for The Family Story Paper for three years, her address was Garrisonville. In explanation of the appearance of one of her stories in a rival newspaper, she said that it was one which had been published previously under a pseudonym. Neither the pseudonym, the name of the story, nor the name of the rival publication was mentioned, but the pen name was apparently "E. G. Walraven," the only nom de plume known to have been used by her.

After the death of Mrs. Jones' mother in 1884, she removed to a suburb of Washington and lived there several years, continually writing. Said Arthur Grissom in 1888, "Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth receives $10,000 annually from the Ledger, and Mrs. Emma Garrison Jones and others are paid nearly as much by the Munros."

In the early 1880's she removed to Martinsburg, West Virginia, and thereafter made that her home. On February 2, 1898, while on a visit to her brother, John R. Garrison, in Washington, D. C., she died and was buried in the Congressional Cemetery beside her youngest son, Gwynn (1869-1886). She was survived by her husband, one son, and three daughters.  . . .  }

 

Garrison's translation of Michel Strogoff is a much more literal and complete translation than that of Kingston, which omits several portions of the descriptions and some difficult passages. It was first published starting March 4, 1876 in serial form in Frank Leslie's Chimney Corner. 

Her Verne translations are:

I. *Michael Strogoff, From Moscow to Irkoutsk. Frank Leslie: 1876

II. Adventures in the Solar World. Frank Leslie: 1877 (not located as of 2005)

Grace Virginia Lord

Grace Virginia Lord (? — 1885) translated under the pen name of Virginia Champlin. She wrote or translated from the French seven books, starting with her Verne translation:

I. Tribulations of a Chinaman, Lee and Shepard, Boston: 1879

She contributed translations to Potter’s American Monthly. Other books and  translations are:

Learning to Draw, or, the Story of a Young Designer, by Eug. E. Violet-le-Duc, New York: 1880

No. 13 Rue Marlot; form the French of René du Pont-Just, Boston: 1880

Kings in Exile, by Alphonse Daudet, Boston: 1880

Mademoiselle Bismark; from the French of Henri Rochefort, New York: 1881

Numa Roumestan, by Alphonse Daudet, Boston: 1882

Literature in the United States; from the French of Leo Quesnel, Potter’s American Monthly, Sep. 1882, in three parts, pp. 19, 129, 253

Shadowed by a Detective; or, the Woman in Wax, by Virginia Champlin, New York: 1885

William John Gordon

 With the death of Kingston in 1880, Sampson Low turned to a number of lesser known translators such as William John Gordon. Gordon was a prolific juvenile author, writing over 200 books on all sorts of subjects: butterflies, railways, birds, grasses, dictionaries etc. His literary career started with his Verne translations. Probably his most popular book is Flags of the World, Frederic Warne & Co.: 1915 which has been reprinted many times. His Verne translations are:

I. The Giant Raft, Sampson Low et al.: 1881-82.

II. Godfrey Morgan: A California Mystery, Sampson Low et al.: 1883.

III. ·The Floating Island, or the Pearl of the Pacific, Sampson Low et al.: 1896

A selection of his other work follows:

Foundry, Forge and Factory; with a chapter on the centenary of the rotary press. / Gordon, William John.-- 1890.

Every-day life on the railroad / by W. J. Gordon.-- [London] : The Religious Tract Society, [189-?]

The horse-world of London / by W. J. Gordon.-- London : Religious Tract Society, 1893

The story of our railways / Gordon, W. J. (William John).-- London, [1896]

How London lives. The feeding, cleansing, lighting and police of London with chapters on the Post Office and other institutions / Gordon, W. J. (William John).-- New ... ed.-- London, [1897]

Mary de Hauteville

Mary de Hauteville published several translations from the French in both England and New York from 1876 to 1879. Her last published work is the Verne translation of Le rayon vert :

I. The Green Ray, Sampson Low et al.: 1883.

Some of her other translations are:

The Little King ... Translated ... by Mary de Hauteville ... Illustrations by Emile Bayard..-- pp. x. 212. ; 8o..-- London : Sampson, Low & Co., 1876.

My rambles in the new world / Biart, Lucien ; Hauteville, Mary de [Translator].-- London : Sampson Low, 1877

The Two Friends ... Translated by Mary de Hauteville. / Biart, Lucien ; Hauteville, Mary de.-- pp. vi. 253. ; 8o..-- London, 1879 : Sampson Low & Co., [1878].

The Serpent Charmer. Translated from the French by M. de Hauteville.  With 68 engravings on wood by A. Marie. / Rousselet, Louis ; Hauteville, Mary de ; Marie, Adrien.-- 8o..-- London, 1879.

James Cotterell

James Cotterell translated French books for the publisher  George Munro in New York.

The Verne translations of James Cotterell are:

I.  The Jangada, or 800 Leagues on the Amazon, Part 1, George Munro, New York: 1881.

II. The Steam House; or a trip across India, George Munro,. New York: 1881

III. The Jangada, or 800 Leagues on the Amazon, Part 2, George Munro, New York: 1882.

IV. The Headstrong Turk, Part 1, George Munro, New York: 1883

V. The Headstrong Turk, Part 2, George Munro, New York: 1883

Other translations of James Cotterell are:

Sonia

Samuel Brohl and Co., by Victor Cherbuliez, George Munro, New York: 1878; available on Project Gutenberg Gutenberg.

Jeremiah C. Curtin

He campaigned extensively for James G. Blaine in the election of 1884 in which Grover Cleveland was elected. .

He died[7] on Tuesday, July 22, 1913.

The translations of Jeremiah  C. Curtin are:

I. An American Robinson Crusoe, New York, Redpath’s Weekly: 1883

II. The Headstrong Turk, New York, Redpath’s Weekly: 1883

George W. Hanah

The translation of George W. Hannah is:

I. Mathias Sandorf, George Munro, New York: 1885, and Sampson Low et al.: 1886.

Laura E. Kendall

The translations of Laura Kendall are:

I. Ticket No. 9672, Vol 1., George Munro, New York: July, 1886

II. Ticket No. 9672, Vol 2., George Munro, New York: November, 1886

III. Texar’s Vemgeance, George Munro, New York: 1887

She translated many other works, including:

The Return of the Princess, a Novel by Jaques Vincent, New York: 1880

Nouma Roumestan, by Alphonse Daudet, New York: 1881

Xenie’s Inheritance; from the French of H. Gréville, Philadelphia: 1881

A Strange Marriage: a Story of Italian Life, by L. Gualdo, New York: 1881

A Child of Israel; from the French of Edouard Cadol, Philadelphia: 1881

Which? or Between Two Women; from the French of Ernest Daudet, Phila.: 1887

Marie Rose, by F. Bolagobey, New York: 1887

Alphonse E. Estoclet

Alphonse E. Estoclet was born circa 1850[8] in France. He is found in the 1881 English Census as schoolmaster of St. Mary's College, Camberwell, a borough of London.  The members of his family included his wife Anne, Joseph J., Alphonse D., and his niece Annette Fenelon.  It was she who probably answered the census taker's queries as the members were referred to in familiar terms; namely Nannie Estoclet, Joey Estoclet and Alphy Estoclet.  Alphonse, the elder, had probably spent some time in Ireland before coming to England.  His wife Anne was born circa 1846 in Tullow, Carlow County, Ireland.  His son, Joseph J., was born in Palmerstown, Dublin County, Ireland circa 1869, suggesting that he married about 1868.

His youngest son, Alphonse David, was born February 19, 1875 in Peckham, Surrey, England, just outside of Camberwell.

During the latter part of 1884, his wife Anne died.  In that same year he published an English translation of Caesar's Gallic War intended as a school reference book.

Sometime in 1890, Estoclet emigrated to the US. 

He is next found in the 1900 US Census living on Warrington Avenue, Philadelphia, with a new wife and child.  The wife's name was Millie Nelson and his son was Emile Estoclet, born July 28, 1897.  Alphonse's occupation was given as an editor.  It is not certain for which newspaper he may have been an editor.  He was certainly in the Philadelphia area ca. 1895, as he was the editor and publisher of a periodical called "The Searcher, an American 'notes and queries'" which lasted from October 15, 1895 till Dec. 1, 1896.

In the 1910 US Census, he is next found living across from Philadelphia in Camden, NJ, where his son Joseph was also an editor for a local newspaper.  An article in the New York Times Book Review (July 30, 1910, p. 10) refers to him as an editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

With regard to the younger Alphonse Estoclet, he served for a period of about six months in the Spanish American War,  was connected later with the theatre and lived in Pennsylvania most of his life.  He died in Farmingdale, Long Island, New York.  As a veteran, he was buried in the Long Island National Cemetery.

At this point, it is not known when the elder Alphonse Estoclet died, but in 1929, his wife, Millie, who was almost 30 years younger than he, had applied for a marriage license, suggesting that Alphonse E. Estoclet had passed on sometime in the 1920s.[9]

The Verne translations of Alphonse Estoclet are:

I. César Cascabel, Cassel, New York: 1890

II. Mistress Branican, Cassel, New York: 1891

He authored and translated several other works, including:

Gaii Julii Caesaris de bello gallico commentariorum lib. I.  With a literal translation, a set of exercises…, 8vo, 139 pp., [trans.] by Alphonse Estoclet … London: W. Stewart & Co., 1884.

Bras d'acier; or, On the gold-path in '60; adapted from the French of Alfred de Bréhat [pseud. of Alfred Guézenec], [trans.] by Adolphe Estoclet.  New York: Cassell Publishing Co. [©1901]

Dante and the word "luciccia", by Alphonse Estoclet, 1879. [no publication data]

Frances Sarah Johnston

As the interest in Verne declined in the 1880’s, Sampson Low turned to a number of anonymous translators, and even omitted publishing several books entirely, finally returning to a well known author with Frances Sarah Johnston (1830-1908) who published under her married name of “Mrs. Cashel Hoey”. She was born 14 Feb 1830 in Bushy Park, Dublin and was one of the eight children of Charles Bolton Johnston, secretary and registrar of the Mount Jerome cemetery. At age 16 she married Adam Murray Stewart who died in 1855; there were two daughters of the marriage. In 1853 she began to contribute reviews and articles on art to Dublin papers and periodicals. Thenceforth until her death she was continuously occupied in journalism, novel-writing or translation. She came to London with an introduction to Thackeray and in 1858 converted to Catholicism and married John Cashel Hoey (1828-1893), C.M.G., a Knight of Malta and a well-known Dublin journalist and later a prominent lawyer.

Mrs. Hoey wrote in all 16 novels. She also translated twenty-seven works from the French and Italian. They include memoirs, travels, and novels. She was granted a civil list pension of £50 in 1892 and died on 8 July 1908 at Beccles, Suffolk; she was buried in the churchyard of the Benedictine church at Little Malvern, Worcestershire. [Dictionary of National Biography, 1920]. Her translations of Verne are:

I. For the Flag, Sampson Low et al.: 1897

II. An Antarctic Mystery, Sampson Low et al.: 1898

Some of her other translations are:

Hope Cranstoun Metcalfe

The last person to translate Verne for Sampson Low was Hope Cranstoun Metcalfe (1866 - 1939) He was born in the Straits Settlements, Penang, Malaya, 22 Feb 1866, son of Julia R. (Shaw) Metcalfe and Ernest Metcalfe, A Major in the Madras Army who died suddenly just after Cranstoun Metcalfe  was born.

Julia Metcalfe, a widow, was living with her two sons and a daughter in Chelsea, London in 1861 receiving a pension from the India Office. HCM was one of four children but his childhood was one that was filled with sadness and constant moving around. After losing his sister and brother to disease after living four years in Kensington, London, his mother removed the family away to Devon in the south-west corner of England. [Cholera, tuberculosis, and typhoid fever were common in the cities of Victorian England.—NMW] There she remarried a surgeon, Henry Norris, and they had a son Hugh N. Norris.

Metcalfe attended the Honiton Grammar School in Honiton, Devon, and later entered Cambridge University where he matriculated Michelmas term in Corpus Christi College, 1884, however he never received a degree. The reasons for this are not clear; but it may have been a trip to France that deterred him from gaining a degree in England. He lived in that country for over a year it seems, as he records in one of his books - ‘The Lowly Estate", in any event obtaining a facility in the French language useful later on.

Returning to England he settled in Putney where he met his first wife, (Bridget Sullivan (?) in 1889) with a son, Jack Cranstoun Metcalfe born in 1892. His wife died after just two years of marriage  due to illness. He also lost an uncle, a cousin and his mother around this period of time (1891-94).

In 1894 he married Edith Kirkpatrick, who too was an author, at St. Luke’s Church, Kensington (the church where Charles Dickens married). He had five children: Edith Mary b. in 1894, possibly in France; Frances Hope Metcalfe b. 1895; Sylvia Margaret Metcalfe b. 1897; Helen Julia Katharine Metcalfe b. 1907; and later in 1910 the last child Violet Kerr Metcalfe who was born in the family’s country home in Halstead, Essex. Another child, Kathleen Cranstoun Metcalfe died in infancy (1896).

 In 1901 he was living back in his childhood borough of Kensington and seems to have had his office at the Author’s Club, and listed his occupation as “Private Secretary and Author”. His serious publishing career started in 1902 with the publication of a novel, Splendid Mourning”. His first translation was The Daughters of Louis XV : (mesdames de France) tr. from the French of Casimir Stryienski, in 1912. His most famous work is Peeresses of the Stage ... With twenty-four portraits, 1913, “About actresses, who have married peers of the realm, or sons of peers of the realm.” In 1915 he translated the first French pulp fiction work, Fantômas by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain — “Fantômas is the Lord of Terror, the Genius of Evil, the arch-criminal anti-hero of a series of 32 pre-WWI French thrillers.” Metcalfe’s Verne translations are:

I. Master of the World, Sampson Low et al.: 1914

II. Their Island Home, Sampson Low et al.: 1923, G. Howard Watt, New York: 1923

III. Castaways of the Flag, Sampson Low et al.: 1923, G. Howard Watt, New York: 1923

IV. Lighthouse at the End of the World, Sampson Low et al.: 1923, G. Howard Watt, New York: 1924

Some of his other translations and books are:

 

His last published work was in 1927, but he lived on until  1939, dying in that year in the family home, 137 Redcliffe Square, Kensington. He is buried with Edith at Gunnersbury Cemetery in West London. [10]

One of Metcalfe’s antecedents married into royal descent in the 17th century, and he is listed in The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal, The Mortimer Percy Volume, p.59 (1895 abt.)

And so sometime in 1939 the last living Sampson Low translator and contemporary of Jules Verne departed this earth. [11]

Appendix I. Writings of Anne Toppan Wilbur

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



[1] Private communication from Victor Berch, on the U.S. Census of 1860 and 1880

[2] Victor Berch, private communication

[3] See Kingston, infra.

[4] Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oxford: 2004 p. 728

[5] The Life, Work, and Influence of W. H. G. Kingston, Ryerson Press, Toronto: 1947.

[6] The Times, London, May 28, 1913.

[7] New York Times, July 24, 1913.

[8] U.S. Census, 1900

[9] Victor Berch, private communication for this section

[10] Family information: xxxx, private communication.

[11] The dates for William John Gordon are yet to be determined.