Abby Langdon Alger | |
---|---|
Born | August 3, 1850 Roxbury, Massachusetts |
Died | May 22, 1905 Brookline, Massachusetts |
Occupation(s) | Writer, translator |
Parent |
|
Relatives | Philip Rounseville Alger (brother) |
Abby Langdon Alger (August 3, 1850 – May 22, 1905) was an American writer and translator, mainly of religious, literary, or folklore texts.
Alger was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, the daughter of Unitarian clergyman William Rounseville Alger and Anna Langdon Lodge Alger. [1] [2] Writer Horatio Alger was her father's cousin, [3] and statesman Henry Cabot Lodge was one of her maternal cousins. [4] Her brother Philip Rounseville Alger was a Naval officer; another brother, WIlliam E. Alger, was a diplomat who worked at American embassies in Latin America. [5] Her niece and namesake, Abby Langdon Alger Wilder (1889–1978), was a prominent state official in New Hampshire. [6]
Alger translated religious, literary, and folklore texts from Italian, French, and German, including works by historian Henri Martin, dramatist Ernest Legouvé, Benôit-Constant Conquelin, Judith Gautier, novelist Victor Hugo, Auguste Joseph Alphonse Gratry, philosopher Ernest Renan, Saint Francis of Assisi, scientist Louis Figuier, and dramatist X. B. Saintine. "She was a remarkable linguist and had French, German, Italian, and other tongues at her instant command," noted a 1905 obituary in the Boston Evening Transcript. "Possessing this valuable attainment, she was frequently in demand among publishing houses, for which she did much translating." [4]
Alger also produced a benefit performance of a miracle play, based on Italian traditions, performed with Italian musicians and puppeteers, at Boston's Minot Hall in 1894. [7] "It was my wish," she later explained, "to show the earliest form of dramatic representation. We, of the present, may call it rough and grotesque; but when one remembers that it was a faithful reproduction of what was given hundreds of years ago, and that it was then received with every mark of reverence, I am sure there will be no adverse criticism." [8] She interviewed Passamaquoddy and Penobscot elders to compile In Indian Tents (1897), a collection of folktales. [9]
Alger died after an operation in a Brookline hospital in 1905, at the age of 54, a few months after her father's death. [2] [4]
Abby Langdon Alger | |
---|---|
Born | August 3, 1850 Roxbury, Massachusetts |
Died | May 22, 1905 Brookline, Massachusetts |
Occupation(s) | Writer, translator |
Parent |
|
Relatives | Philip Rounseville Alger (brother) |
Abby Langdon Alger (August 3, 1850 – May 22, 1905) was an American writer and translator, mainly of religious, literary, or folklore texts.
Alger was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, the daughter of Unitarian clergyman William Rounseville Alger and Anna Langdon Lodge Alger. [1] [2] Writer Horatio Alger was her father's cousin, [3] and statesman Henry Cabot Lodge was one of her maternal cousins. [4] Her brother Philip Rounseville Alger was a Naval officer; another brother, WIlliam E. Alger, was a diplomat who worked at American embassies in Latin America. [5] Her niece and namesake, Abby Langdon Alger Wilder (1889–1978), was a prominent state official in New Hampshire. [6]
Alger translated religious, literary, and folklore texts from Italian, French, and German, including works by historian Henri Martin, dramatist Ernest Legouvé, Benôit-Constant Conquelin, Judith Gautier, novelist Victor Hugo, Auguste Joseph Alphonse Gratry, philosopher Ernest Renan, Saint Francis of Assisi, scientist Louis Figuier, and dramatist X. B. Saintine. "She was a remarkable linguist and had French, German, Italian, and other tongues at her instant command," noted a 1905 obituary in the Boston Evening Transcript. "Possessing this valuable attainment, she was frequently in demand among publishing houses, for which she did much translating." [4]
Alger also produced a benefit performance of a miracle play, based on Italian traditions, performed with Italian musicians and puppeteers, at Boston's Minot Hall in 1894. [7] "It was my wish," she later explained, "to show the earliest form of dramatic representation. We, of the present, may call it rough and grotesque; but when one remembers that it was a faithful reproduction of what was given hundreds of years ago, and that it was then received with every mark of reverence, I am sure there will be no adverse criticism." [8] She interviewed Passamaquoddy and Penobscot elders to compile In Indian Tents (1897), a collection of folktales. [9]
Alger died after an operation in a Brookline hospital in 1905, at the age of 54, a few months after her father's death. [2] [4]