Author: Fenelon, F. de Salignac de la Mothe
Biography:
FENELON, François de Salignac de la Mothe (1651-1715)
An influential French Roman Catholic clergyman, ultimately Archbishop of Cambrai. Appointed tutor to the eldest grandson of Louis XIV in 1689, he wrote an (educational) adventure story about Telemachus the son of Odysseus for the boy in 1693-4 which became an immediate bestseller. While most of the English translations were in prose (as was the original), there had been verse translations before 1770 and more appeared. Richard Graves, Logan Loveit, and Mark Anthony Meilan have their own headnotes, qq.v. Other translators included here were John Clarke, John Youde, Samuel Leacroft, John Canton, and J. Falla. Nothing is known of Falla or Clarke. John Youde (c. 1743-96), a graduate and Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, became vicar of Higham, Kent (1771-96). Samuel Leacroft (1745-96) was a London bookseller, in business 1771-95. John Canton (fl 1788) had served as the private secretary of the Whig statesman and Prime Minister, the Marquis of Rockingham (1730-82). (findmypast.com 1 Feb. 2025; ancestry.com 1 Feb. 2025; ACAD; BBTI) HJ
Other Names:
- Fenelon