Isabelle de Montolieu (1751–1832) was a Swiss novelist and translator. She wrote in and translated to the French language. Montolieu penned a few original novels and over 100 volumes of translations. She wrote the first French translation of Jane Austen's ''
Sense and Sensibility
''Sense and Sensibility'' is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously; ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might have been. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (age 19) ...
'' (''Raison et Sensibilité, ou Les Deux Manières d'Aimer'') and ''
Persuasion
Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for Social influence, influence. Persuasion can influence a person's Belief, beliefs, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, Intention, intentions, Motivation, motivations, or Behavior, behaviours.
...
'' (''La Famille Elliot, ou L'Ancienne Inclination'').
One of her translations to French,
Johann David Wyss
Johann David Wyss (; 28 May 1743 – 11 January 1818) was a Swiss author, best remembered for his book '' The Swiss Family Robinson'' (''Der schweizerische Robinson'') (1812). He was born and died in Bern. It is said that he was inspired by ...
's German-language ''
The Swiss Family Robinson
''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwrec ...
'' (''Le Robinson suisse, ou, Journal d'un père de famille, naufragé avec ses enfans''), was adapted and expanded by her with original episodes more than once. Montolieu's French version is the literal source of still frequently reprinted English translations, for example
William H. G. Kingston's 1879 version, one of the most popular in English over the years, is actually a translation of Montolieu's French adaptation.
"A Note on Wyss's Swiss Family Robinson, Montolieu's Le Robinson suisse, and Kingston's 1879 text"
by Ellen Moody.
Her first novel, ''Caroline de Lichtfield, ou Mémoires d'une Famille Prussienne'', was an influential instant best-seller in the 1780s and stayed in print until the mid-19th century.
Notes
External links
Sources
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Works by Isabelle de Montolieu
at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
''Caroline de Lichtfield, ou Mémoires d'une Famille Prussienne''
text of novel. (French)
selections from the 1824 text. (French)
Other
by Ellen Moody
by Ellen Moody
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montolieu, Isabelle de
1751 births
1832 deaths
Swiss women writers
Swiss translators
Translators to French