Peter Anthony Motteux
February 25, 1663 – February 18, 1718
Countries:
France, United Kingdom
Place of Birth:
Rouen France
Place of Death:
London, England
Categories:
Poetry
Peter Anthony Motteux (25 February 1663 - 18 February 1718), born Pierre Antoine Motteux, was an English author, playwright, and translator. Motteux was a significant figure in the evolution of English journalism in his era, as the publisher and editor of The Gentleman's Journal, "the first English magazine," from 1692 to 1694.
Life
A native of Rouen, he was a French Huguenot who came to England in 1685 after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. At first he made his living as an auctioneer; by 1706 he maintained a shop in Leadenhall Street, selling imports from China, Japan, and India, and (in his own words) "silks, lace, linens, pictures, and other goods." He also held a position with the Post Office in the first decade of the 18th century.
Among his miscellaneous works, A Poem in Praise of Tea (1701) is arguably the best known. Motteux's end was controversial, and may have constituted a case of autoerotic asphyxiation: "His death in a bawdy house was thought to be suspicious, and caused a good deal of legal disturbance." Five people were tried for his murder but were acquitted. He was survived by his widow Priscilla, two sons and a daughter.
Translations
Motteux is perhaps best known for completing Sir Thomas Urquhart's translation of Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel. Books I and II of Urquhart's translation of Rabelais had been published in 1653; Motteux (with outside help) revised these, completed Urquart's translation of Book III, and translated Book IV and the possibly-spurious Book V. The entire work was published in 1693 and 1694 (reprinted in 1708; revised by John Ozell in 1737).
While Urquhart's original version of Rabelais has sometimes been acclaimed as a masterpiece in itself, critics have had reservations about Motteux's continuation. In part, Motteux suffered for frankly rendering the vulgarity of Rabelais, to a generation of readers less prepared to tolerate it than Urquhart's had been.
Life
A native of Rouen, he was a French Huguenot who came to England in 1685 after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. At first he made his living as an auctioneer; by 1706 he maintained a shop in Leadenhall Street, selling imports from China, Japan, and India, and (in his own words) "silks, lace, linens, pictures, and other goods." He also held a position with the Post Office in the first decade of the 18th century.
Among his miscellaneous works, A Poem in Praise of Tea (1701) is arguably the best known. Motteux's end was controversial, and may have constituted a case of autoerotic asphyxiation: "His death in a bawdy house was thought to be suspicious, and caused a good deal of legal disturbance." Five people were tried for his murder but were acquitted. He was survived by his widow Priscilla, two sons and a daughter.
Translations
Motteux is perhaps best known for completing Sir Thomas Urquhart's translation of Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel. Books I and II of Urquhart's translation of Rabelais had been published in 1653; Motteux (with outside help) revised these, completed Urquart's translation of Book III, and translated Book IV and the possibly-spurious Book V. The entire work was published in 1693 and 1694 (reprinted in 1708; revised by John Ozell in 1737).
While Urquhart's original version of Rabelais has sometimes been acclaimed as a masterpiece in itself, critics have had reservations about Motteux's continuation. In part, Motteux suffered for frankly rendering the vulgarity of Rabelais, to a generation of readers less prepared to tolerate it than Urquhart's had been.