Alfred Richard Allinson
Encyclopedia
Alfred Richard Allinson was a 19th- and 20th-century British
academic, author, and voluminous translator of continental European literature (mostly French
, but occasionally Latin, German
and Russian
) into English
. His translations were often published as by A. R. Allinson, Alfred R. Allinson or Alfred Allinson.
. He attended Lincoln College
, Oxford University
, from which he took a Master of Arts degree on June 14, 1877. After graduation he worked as an assistant school master and a librarian. He was also a meteorological hobbyist. He was living in Newcastle, Northumberland
in 1901, and in St Thomas, Exeter
in Devon
in 1911. He died in December 1929 in the London Borough of Hackney
.
for Paris
-based specialty publisher Charles Carrington
in the late 1880s and 1890s. Later he branched out into mainstream French literature, including works of various serious and popular authors. He participated with other translators in two ambitious early twentieth century projects to render the works of Anatole France and Alexandre Dumas into English. He also translated a number of children's books and historical works, and, late in his career, a number of volumes of the sensationalist Fantômas
detective novels.
Allinson's sole work of note as an original author was The Days of the Directoire (1910), a historical and social portrait of France during the period of the French Revolution
, in which his aim was "to present a vivid account of the extraordinary years from 1795 to 1799, when the Five Directors ruled France from the Palace of the Luxembourg; to portray the chief actors of those stirring times; and to draw a picture of the social conditions prevailing in capital and country after the tremendous changes of the Revolution."
and Anatole France
to a broad English audience. Several of his translations of their works were the first into English, and a number of these remain the only English versions. In the case of Anatole France, his were the English versions authorized by the original writer.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
academic, author, and voluminous translator of continental European literature (mostly French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, but occasionally Latin, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
) into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. His translations were often published as by A. R. Allinson, Alfred R. Allinson or Alfred Allinson.
Life
Allinson was born in December 1852 in Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. He attended Lincoln College
Lincoln College, Oxford
Lincoln College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is situated on Turl Street in central Oxford, backing onto Brasenose College and adjacent to Exeter College...
, Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, from which he took a Master of Arts degree on June 14, 1877. After graduation he worked as an assistant school master and a librarian. He was also a meteorological hobbyist. He was living in Newcastle, Northumberland
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
in 1901, and in St Thomas, Exeter
St Thomas, Exeter
St Thomas is a large civil parish in Devon, England, on the western side of the river Exe, connected to Exeter by Exe Bridge. It has a number of pubs, places of worship, a couple of schools and a large shopping precinct...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
in 1911. He died in December 1929 in the London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
.
Career
His early works as a translator included a number of works of French eroticaErotic literature
Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of human sexual relationships which have the power to or are intended to arouse the reader sexually. Such erotica takes the form of novels, short stories, poetry, true-life memoirs, and sex manuals...
for Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
-based specialty publisher Charles Carrington
Charles Carrington
Charles Carrington was a leading British publisher of erotica in late-19th and early 20th century Europe. Born Paul Harry Ferdinando in Bethnal Green, England on 11 November 1867, he moved in 1895 from London to Paris where he published and sold books in the rue Faubourg Montmartre and rue de...
in the late 1880s and 1890s. Later he branched out into mainstream French literature, including works of various serious and popular authors. He participated with other translators in two ambitious early twentieth century projects to render the works of Anatole France and Alexandre Dumas into English. He also translated a number of children's books and historical works, and, late in his career, a number of volumes of the sensationalist Fantômas
Fantômas
Fantômas is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre .One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared in a total of 32 volumes written by the two collaborators, then a subsequent 11...
detective novels.
Allinson's sole work of note as an original author was The Days of the Directoire (1910), a historical and social portrait of France during the period of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, in which his aim was "to present a vivid account of the extraordinary years from 1795 to 1799, when the Five Directors ruled France from the Palace of the Luxembourg; to portray the chief actors of those stirring times; and to draw a picture of the social conditions prevailing in capital and country after the tremendous changes of the Revolution."
Significance
Allinson's primary importance to literature is in helping to introduce French authors Alexandre DumasAlexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
and Anatole France
Anatole France
Anatole France , born François-Anatole Thibault, , was a French poet, journalist, and novelist. He was born in Paris, and died in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire. He was a successful novelist, with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters...
to a broad English audience. Several of his translations of their works were the first into English, and a number of these remain the only English versions. In the case of Anatole France, his were the English versions authorized by the original writer.
Original works
- The Days of the Directoire (1910) (Internet Archive e-text)
Edited works
- Waverley, or 'Tis Sixty Years SinceWaverley (novel)Waverley is an 1814 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. Initially published anonymously in 1814 as Scott's first venture into prose fiction, Waverley is often regarded as the first historical novel. It became so popular that Scott's later novels were advertised as being "by the author of...
, by Sir Walter Scott (1892)
Translated works
Note: publication dates shown are those of the translation, not of publication in the original language.Works of Alexandre Dumas
- Acté, a Tale of the Days of Nero (1905) – first English translation
- The Adventures of Captain Pamphile and Delaporte's Little Presents (Le capitaine Pamphile) (1905)
- Amaury (1904)
- Bontekoe (1904)
- Captain Marion (1906) - 1st English translation
- Captain Pamphile (1904)
- The Castle of Eppstein (Le château d'Eppstein) (1904) – first English translation
- Catherine Blum, and Other Stories (1922?)
- Cécile; or, The Wedding Gown (Cécile) (1904)
- The Chevalier d'Harmental
- Chicot the Jester (La dame de Monsoreau) (1921)
- Conscience (Conscience l'innocent) (1902) – first English translation
- The Convict's Son and Other Stories (Fils du forçat, M. Coumbes) (1922)
- The Corsican BrothersThe Corsican BrothersThe Corsican Brothers is a novella by Alexandre Dumas, père first published in 1844. It has been adapted many times on the stage and in film.-Adaptations:*The Corsican Brothers , directed by film pioneer and inventor George Albert Smith...
(Frères corses) (1904) - Crop-Eared Jacquot and Other Stories (1903) – first English translation
- The Dove (1906) - 1st English translation
- The Duke of Savoy's Page (Page du duc de Savoie)
- Pt. 3. The Tourney of the Rue Saint-Antoine
- The Fencing Master; Life in Russia (Maître d'armes) (1921)
- Fernande (1904) - 1st English translation
- Georges, or, The Isle of FranceGeorges (novel)Georges is a short novel by Alexandre Dumas, père set on the island of Mauritius, from 1810 to 1824. This novel is of particular interest to scholars because Dumas reused many of the ideas and plot devices later in The Count of Monte Cristo, and because race and racism are at the center of this...
(Georges) (1904) - King Pepin (1906) - 1st English translation
- Maître Adam (Maître Adam le Calabrais) (1906) – 1st English translation
- Mille et un fantômes
- Tales of Strange adventure (1906) - 1st English translation
- Tales of Terror (1906) - 1st English translation
- Tales of the Supernatural (1906) - 1st English translation
- The Mouth of Hell (Le Trou de l'Envers) - 1st English translation
- My Pets (Mes Bêtes) (1909) - 1st English translation
- Nanon; or, Women's War (1904)
- Olympia (Olympia de Clèves) - 1st English translation
- Otho, the Archer (Orthion l'archer) (1904)
- Pascal Bruno (1904)
- Pauline (1904)
- Père la Ruine (Le père la Ruine) (1905) - 1st English translation
- The Prince of Thieves (1904)
- Queen Margot (La Reine Margot)
- Pt. 1: The Great Massacre (1921)
- Pt. 2: Henri de Navarre (1921)
- The Reminiscences of Antony ; and Marianna (1905)
- The Regent's Daughter (Fille du régent)
- Pt. 1. Hélène de Chaverny (1907)
- Pt. 2. The Tragedy of Nantes (1908)
- Robin Hood, the Outlaw (1904)
- Samuel Gelb - 1st English translation
- The Snowball (1903)
- Sultanetta (1903)
- The Three MusketeersThe Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
(Les Trois Mousquetaires) (1903) - Twenty Years AfterTwenty Years AfterTwenty Years After is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père, first serialized from January to August, 1845. A book of the D'Artagnan Romances, it is a sequel to The Three Musketeers and precedes The Vicomte de Bragelonne .The novel follows events in France during La Fronde, during the childhood reign...
(Vingt Ans Après) (1904) - The Two DianasThe Two DianasThe Two Dianas is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It tells the fictionalized story of Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, who mortally wounded king Henry II of France. The two Dianas in the title refer to Henry II's favorite, Diana de Poitiers, and her daughter, Diana de Castro. The novel also...
(Les deux Diane)- Pt. 1. The Taking of Calais (1909)
- Pt. 2. The Chatalet (1921)
- The Vicomte de Bragelonne; or, Ten Years LaterThe Vicomte de BragelonneThe Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third and last of the d'Artagnan Romances, following The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After. It appeared first in serial form between 1847 and 1850...
(Le Vicomte de Bragelonne, ou Dix ans plus tard) (1904)- Pt. 1. Louise de la Vallière
- Pt. 2. The Man in the Iron Mask
- The Wild-Duck Shooter - 1st English translation
- The Wolf-LeaderThe Wolf LeaderThe Wolf Leader is an English translation by Alfred Allinson of Le Meneur de loups, an 1857 fantasy novel by Alexandre Dumas. Allinson's translation was first published in London by Methuen in 1904 under the title The Wolf-Leader; the first American edition, edited and somewhat cut by L...
(Le Meneur de loups) (1904)
Works of Anatole France
- The Aspirations of Jean Servien (Les désirs de Jean Servien) (1912)
- The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard (Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard)
- The Garden of Epicurus (Le jardin d'Epicure) (1908)
- The Gods Are AthirstThe Gods Are AthirstThe Gods Are Athirst is a 1912 novel by Anatole France...
(Les dieux ont soif) (1913) - The Human Tragedy (L'Humaine Tragedie) (1917) (previously pub. as part of The Well of Saint Clare)
- Little Sea Dogs, and Other Tales of Childhood (co-translated with J. Lewis May) (1925)
- Marguerite and Count Morin, Deputy; together with Alfred de Vigny and The Path of Glory (1927) (co-translated with J. Lewis May)
- The Merrie Tales of Jacques Tournebroche, and Child Life in Town and Country (Les contes de Jacques Tournebroche and Les enfants) (1909)
- The Path of Glory (1916)
- The Well of Saint Clare (Le puits de Sainte Claire) (1903)
Works of Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
- Bulldog and Rats (Fantômas Attaque Fandor), by Marcel AllainMarcel AllainMarcel Allain was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas....
(1928) - Fantômas Captured (Fantômas en Danger), by Marcel AllainMarcel AllainMarcel Allain was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas....
(1926) - Juve in the Dock (Fantômas, Roi des Recéleurs), by Marcel AllainMarcel AllainMarcel Allain was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas....
(1925) - A Limb of Satan (La Main Coupée), by Pierre SouvestrePierre SouvestrePierre Souvestre was a French lawyer, journalist, writer and organizer of motor races. He is mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Marcel Allain of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas...
and Marcel AllainMarcel AllainMarcel Allain was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas....
(1924) - The Long Arm of Fantômas (Le Policier Apache), by Pierre SouvestrePierre SouvestrePierre Souvestre was a French lawyer, journalist, writer and organizer of motor races. He is mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Marcel Allain of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas...
and Marcel AllainMarcel AllainMarcel Allain was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas....
(1924) - The Lord of Terror (Fantômas est-il réssuscité), by Marcel AllainMarcel AllainMarcel Allain was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas....
(1925) - The Revenge of Fantômas (Fantômas prend sa Revanche), by Marcel AllainMarcel AllainMarcel Allain was a French writer mostly remembered today for his co-creation with Pierre Souvestre of the fictional arch-villain and master criminal Fantômas....
(1927)
Works of other authors
- Birds and Beasts, by Camille LemonnierCamille LemonnierAntoine Louis Camille Lemonnier was a Belgian writer, poet and journalist. He was a member of the Symbolist La Jeune Belgique group, but his best known works are realist. His first work was Salon de Bruxelles , a collection of art criticism...
(1911) - The Chastisement of Mansour (L'amour au pays bleu), by Hector France (1898)
- The Diverting Adventures of Maurin (Maurin des Mauris), by Jean AicardJean AicardJean François Victor Aicard was a French poet, dramatist and novelist.-Biography:He was born in Toulon. His father, Jean Aicard, was a journalist of some distinction, and the son early began his career in 1867 with Les Jeunes Croyances, followed in 1870 by a one-act play produced at the Marseille...
(1910) - Down There (Là-Bas), by Joris-Karl HuysmansJoris-Karl HuysmansCharles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans . He is most famous for the novel À rebours...
(1930) - Forty-five years of my life (1770 to 1815), by the Princess Louise of Prussia (Princess Antoni Radziwiłł) (1912)
- Golf, by Arnaud MassyArnaud MassyArnaud Massy was one of France's most successful professional golfers.Massy was born in Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France...
(1914) - Intimate Memoirs of Napoleon III : Personal Reminiscences of the Man and the Emperor, by Baron d'Ambès (pseud.) (1912)
- Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies (Vies de dames galantes), by the Seigneur de Brantôme [Pierre de Bourdeille] (1901–1902) - 1st English translation
- The Massacre of the Innocents (Massacre des innocents), by Maurice MaeterlinckMaurice MaeterlinckMaurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
(1914) - Maurice Maeterlinck, a Biographical Study, by Gérard Harry, with two essays by M. Maeterlinck (1910)
- Maurin the Illustrious, by Jean AicardJean AicardJean François Victor Aicard was a French poet, dramatist and novelist.-Biography:He was born in Toulon. His father, Jean Aicard, was a journalist of some distinction, and the son early began his career in 1867 with Les Jeunes Croyances, followed in 1870 by a one-act play produced at the Marseille...
(1910) - Nell in Bridewell (Lenchen im Zuchthaus), by W. Reinhard (193 )
- Passion and Criminality in France : a Legal and Literary Study (Le crime et le suicide passionnels), by Louis Proal (1901) Google e-text
- Satanism and Witchcraft, a Study in Medieval Superstition (Le sorci`ere), by Jules MicheletJules MicheletJules Michelet was a French historian. He was born in Paris to a family with Huguenot traditions.-Early life:His father was a master printer, not very prosperous, and Jules assisted him in the actual work of the press...
(1939) (a.k.a. Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Superstition (1992)) - The SatyriconSatyriconSatyricon is a Latin work of fiction in a mixture of prose and poetry. It is believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as a certain Titus Petronius...
, by PetroniusPetroniusGaius Petronius Arbiter was a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero. He is generally believed to be the author of the Satyricon, a satirical novel believed to have been written during the Neronian age.-Life:...
(1930) - The Sexual Instinct and its Morbid Manifestations from the Double Standpoint of Jurisprudence and Psychiatry, by Veniamin Mikhailovich Tarnovskii (1890)
- The Shadow of Love, by Marcelle TinayreMarcelle TinayreMarcelle Marguerite Suzanne Tinayre, born October 8, 1870 in Tulle, Corrèze, and died August 23, 1948 in Grossouvre, Cher, was a French woman of letters and prolific author...
(1911) - The Sorceress; a Study in Middle Age Superstition, by Jules MicheletJules MicheletJules Michelet was a French historian. He was born in Paris to a family with Huguenot traditions.-Early life:His father was a master printer, not very prosperous, and Jules assisted him in the actual work of the press...
(1904) - The Sword and Womankind, Being a Study of the Influence of "The Queen of Weapons" Upon the Moral and Social Status of Women (L'Épée et les femmes), by Edouard de Beaumont (1900)
- Tortures and Torments of the Christian Martyrs, From the "De ss. martyrum cruciatibus", by Antonio Gallonio (1903)
- An Unknown Son of Napoleon, by Hector Fleischmann (1914)
- Walks in Paris, by Georges Cain (1909)
- The War Diary of the Emperor Frederick III, 1870-1871 (Das Kriegstagebuch von 1870/71), by Frederick III, German EmperorFrederick III, German EmperorFrederick III was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days in 1888, the Year of the Three Emperors. Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl known informally as Fritz, was the only son of Emperor William I and was raised in his family's tradition of military service...
(1926)