Léon de Wailly

Armand François Léon de Wailly (28 July 1804 – 25 April 1864) was a 19th-century French novelist, playwright, adaptor and translator.

Biography Born into a family of writers and academics, graduated from the École des chartes, Léon de Wailly became a close friend of Alfred de Vigny and worked as private secretary for . He became known for his numerous translations of English writers (poetry) and his collaboration with P. J. Stahl in the adaptation of British classics (including William Shakespeare). Gustave de Wailly was his brother.

Works 1825: Le Mort dans l’embarras, comédie nouvelle, in 3 acts and in verse, with Gustave de Wailly 1834: Benvenuto Cellini, opera in 2 acts, libretto with Henri Auguste Barbier and Alfred de Vigny, music by Hector Berlioz 1838: Angelica Kauffmann 1844: L’Héritage de vie 1848: Pensées morales et maximes 1854: Stella et Vanessa 1855: L'oncle Tom, drama in 5 acts and 9 tableaux 1860: Les Deux filles de M. Dubreuil 1862: Le Doyen de Saint-Patrick (drama in 5 acts, in prose with Louis Ulbach)

Translations He translated works from Matthew Gregory Lewis (The Monk), Jonathan Swift, Shakespeare, Henry Fielding (The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling), Robert Burns (Poésies complètes), Laurence Sterne (The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, A Sentimental Journey) and also Fanny Burney (Evelina).

Adaptations Mary Bell, William et Lafaine. La vie des enfants en Amérique, Adapted from English by P.-J. Stahl and de Wailly, Hetzel, 1895 Les Vacances de Riquet et de Madeleine, Adapted from English by P.-J. Stahl and de Wailly, Hetzel, 1908–1909