George Makepeace Towle
Encyclopedia
George Makepeace Towle was an American
lawyer, politician, and author. His is best known for his translations of Jules Verne
' s works, in particular his 1873 translation of Around the World in Eighty Days.
in 1861 and in law from the Harvard Law School
in 1863, and practised in Boston in 1863-5. He was United States consul
at Nantes, France, in 1866-8, and in the latter year was transferred to the consulate at Bradford, England, where he remained until his return to Boston in 1870. One of his many prominent friends was Charles Dickens
, to whose periodical, "All the Year Round
", he contributed several articles on American affairs.
Towle became president of the Papyrus club in 1880, and was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Chicago in 1888. He was managing editor of the Boston "Commercial Bulletin" in 1870-1, and foreign editor of the "Boston Post
" in 1871-6, and became a contributor to many foreign and American periodicals and took an active part in the literary life publishing over 50 books and articles and giving public lectures on topics of the day.
In early 1873 Towle started collaborating with the American publisher James R. Osgood
on translations of Verne. He continued to translate the Verne novels until the bankruptcy of the firm in 1876. The translations are of a uniformly high quality.
On 16 September 1866 in Paris, Towle married Nellie Lane of Boston, who survived him. Towle died in Brookline after a long illness culminating in paralysis of the brain, and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery
. He had no children.
Selected translations
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer, politician, and author. His is best known for his translations of Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
' s works, in particular his 1873 translation of Around the World in Eighty Days.
Life
Towle graduated in arts from Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1861 and in law from the Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1863, and practised in Boston in 1863-5. He was United States consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
at Nantes, France, in 1866-8, and in the latter year was transferred to the consulate at Bradford, England, where he remained until his return to Boston in 1870. One of his many prominent friends was Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, to whose periodical, "All the Year Round
All the Year Round
All the Year Round was a Victorian periodical, being a British weekly literary magazine founded and owned by Charles Dickens, published between 1859 and 1895 throughout the United Kingdom. Edited by Dickens, it was the direct successor to his previous publication Household Words, abandoned due to...
", he contributed several articles on American affairs.
Towle became president of the Papyrus club in 1880, and was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Chicago in 1888. He was managing editor of the Boston "Commercial Bulletin" in 1870-1, and foreign editor of the "Boston Post
Boston Post
The Boston Post was the most popular daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The Post was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G...
" in 1871-6, and became a contributor to many foreign and American periodicals and took an active part in the literary life publishing over 50 books and articles and giving public lectures on topics of the day.
In early 1873 Towle started collaborating with the American publisher James R. Osgood
James R. Osgood
James R. Osgood was an American publisher probably best known for his partnership with Mark Twain and his involvement with the publishing company that would become Houghton Mifflin.-Life and work:...
on translations of Verne. He continued to translate the Verne novels until the bankruptcy of the firm in 1876. The translations are of a uniformly high quality.
On 16 September 1866 in Paris, Towle married Nellie Lane of Boston, who survived him. Towle died in Brookline after a long illness culminating in paralysis of the brain, and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
. He had no children.
Selected works
- Glimpses of History (Boston, 1865)
- The History of Henry the Fifth, King of England (New York, 1866)
- American Society (2 vols., London, 1870)
- The Eastern Question: Modern Greece (Boston, 1877)
- Principalities of the Danube: Serbia and Roumania (1877)
- Beaconsfield (New York, 1878)
- Young Folks' Heroes of History, including "Vasco da Gama", "Pizarro", "Magellan", "Marco Polo", "Raleigh", and "Drake" (6 vols.. Boston, 1878–82)
- Modern France, 1851-79 (New York, 1887)
Selected translations
- Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days, James Osgood, Boston: 1873, reprinted by Sampson Low.
- Jules Verne, Dr. Ox and Other StoriesDoctor OxDoctor Ox is a short-story collection by Jules Verne first published in 1874 by Pierre-Jules Hetzel.It consists of four varied works of Verne's youth:*"Une fantaisie du docteur Ox" Doctor Ox is a short-story collection by Jules Verne first published in 1874 by Pierre-Jules Hetzel.It consists of...
, James Osgood, Boston: 1874, reprinted by Sampson Low, London: 1874. - Jules Verne, The Wreck of the ChancellorThe Survivors of the ChancellorThe Survivors of the Chancellor: Diary of J. R. Kazallon, Passenger is an 1875 novel written by Jules Verne about the final voyage of a British sailing ship, the Chancellor, told from the perspective of one of its passengers ....
and Martin Paz, James Osgood, Boston: 1874.