Abby Langdon Alger Explained

Abby Langdon Alger
Birth Date:	August 3, 1850
Birth Place:	Roxbury, Massachusetts
Death Date:	May 22, 1905
Death Place:	Brookline, Massachusetts
Occupation:	Writer, translator
Father:	William Rounseville Alger
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.

Early life

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]

Career

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."

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]

Publications

Original works

• "A collection of words and phrases taken from the Passamaquoddy tongue" (1885, paper presented to the American Philosophical Society)^[10]
• In Indian Tents: Stories Told by Penobscot, Passamaquoddy and Mimac Indians (1897)^{[11] [12]}

Translations

• Martin, A popular history of France, from the first Revolution to the present time (1877)^[13]
• Legouvé, Reading as a fine art (1879)^{[14] [15]}
• Coquelin, The actor and his art (1881)^[16]
• Gautier, The usurper: an episode in Japanese history (1884)^{[17] [18]}
• Reissman, The life and works of Robert Schumann (1886)^{[19] [20]}
• Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1888)^[21] and Hans of Iceland (1891)^[22]
• Gratry, Guide to the knowledge of God, a study of the chief theodicies (1892)^{[23] [24]}
• Figuier, Joys beyond the threshold: A sequel to The to-morrow of death (1893)^[25]
• Bentzon, The Condition of Woman in the United States: A Traveler's Notes (1895)^[26]
• Renan, My Sister Henriette (1895)^[27]
• La Motte Fouqué, Undine, a Tale (1897)^[28]
• The little flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi (1898)^{[29] [30]}
• Saintine, Picciola (1899)^[31]

Personal life

Alger died after an operation in a Brookline hospital in 1905, at the age of 54, a few months after her father's death.

External links

• Abby Landon Alger, In Indian Tents (1897), a LibriVox recording
• Victor Hugo, Hans of Iceland (1821), as translated by Abby L. Alger, a Librivox recording

Notes and References

1. Perkins Institute and Massachusetts School for the Blind . August 31, 1905 . In Memoriam . Annual Report . 29–30.
2. News: 1905-02-08 . Obituary: Death of Rev. Dr. W. R. Alger, a Native of Freetown . 5 . Fall River Daily Evening News . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
3. Book: Scharnhorst, Gary . A literary biography of William Rounseville Alger (1822-1905), a neglected member of the Concord circle . 1990 . E. Mellen Press . 0-88946-576-2 . Lewiston, N.Y. . 20098082.
4. News: 1905-05-26 . Recent Deaths: Miss Abby L. Alger . 4 . Boston Evening Transcript . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
5. News: 1917-03-22 . William E. Alger Dead . 2 . The Boston Globe . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
6. News: Krause . Lydia . 1951-04-22 . Only Woman State Employment Director in U.S. Asks No Special Privileges . 18 . The Daily Advertiser . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
7. News: 1894-03-15 . Worked by Wires; Miss Alger's 'Miracle Play' Set for Today; Characters by Puppets . 4 . Boston Post . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
8. News: 1894-03-17 . The 'Miracle Play'; Miss Alger Pleased with its Reception; Her Wish in Giving It . 2 . Boston Post . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
9. News: 1897-12-16 . Indians and Thunder . 2 . Chase County Courant . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
10. Alger, Abby L. "A collection of words and phrases taken from the Passamaquoddy tongue" (1885, paper presented at the American Philosophical Society; via Hathi Trust
11. Alger, Abby Langdon. In Indian Tents: Stories Told by Penobscot, Passamaquoddy and Mimac Indians (Boston: Roberts Brothers 1897). via Project Gutenberg.
12. News: 1897-09-18 . New Books . 16 . The Inter Ocean . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
13. Martin, Henri, A popular history of France, from the first Revolution to the present time (Boston: Colonial Press 1877), translated by Abby Langdon Alger and Mary L. Booth, via Hathi Trust.
14. Legouvé, Ernest. Reading as a fine art (Boston: Roberts Brothers 1879), translated by Abby Langdon Alger; via Hathi Trust
15. December 1879 . Review of Legouvé, 'L'Art de la Lecture' . The Catholic World . 30 . 177 . 428.
16. Coquelin, C., The actor and his art (Boston: Roberts Brothers 1881), translated by Abby Langdon Alger; via Hathi Trust
17. Gautier, Judith. The usurper: an episode in Japanese history (Boston: Roberts Brothers 1884), translated by Abby Langdon Alger; via Hathi Trust
18. News: 1884-08-22 . New Books: The Usurper: A Tale of Japan . 6 . Boston Evening Transcript . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
19. Reissman, August, The life and works of Robert Schumann (London: G. Bell and Sons 1886), translated by Abby Langdon Alger; via Hathi Trust
20. News: 1886-04-10 . Reissmann's 'Life of Schumann' . 6 . Boston Evening Transcript . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
21. Book: Hugo, Victor . The Hunchback of Notre-Dame . 1888 . Alger . Abby Langdon.
22. Book: Hugo, Victor . Hans of Iceland . Estes & Lauriat . 1891 . Boston . Alger . Abby Langdon.
23. Gratry, A., Guide to the knowledge of God, a study of the chief theodicies (Boston: Roberts Brothers 1892), translated by Abby Langdon Alger; via Hathi Trust
24. September 1893 . Review of Gratry, Guide to the Knowledge of God . The Methodist Review . 75 . 835–836.
25. Figuier, Louis, Joys beyond the threshold: A sequel to The to-morrow of death (Boston: Roberts Brothers 1893), translated by Abby Langdon Alger; via Hathi Trust
26. Madame Blanc (Th. Bentzon), The Condition of Woman in the United States: A Traveler's Notes (Boston: Roberts Brothers 1895), translated by Abby Langdon Alger; via Hathi Trust
27. Web site: Renan . Ernest . 1895 . Abby Langdon Alger, translator . My sister Henrietta . 2023-01-31 . WorldCat . Roberts Brothers . Boston . en.
28. Frederick, baron De La Motte Fouqué, Undine, a Tale (Boston: Ginn & Company 1897), translated by Abby Langdon Alger; via Hathi Trust
29. Saint Francis Assisi, The little flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi (Boston: Little, 1898), translated by Abby Langdon Alger; via Hathi Trust
30. News: 1898-10-30 . Saint Francis of Assisi . 19 . The Saint Paul Globe . 2023-02-01 . Newspapers.com.
31. Book: Saintine, X.-B. . Picciola . Ginn & Co. . 1899 . Boston . Alger . Abby Langdon.