About the Translator

N. Hewitt’s journey from graduate studies in French to translating François Fénelon’s Les Aventures de Télémaque is a fascinating case of scholarly curiosity leading to a notable literary contribution. Her discovery stemmed from a reference in Honoré de Balzac’s Père Goriot (1835) to an ancient Greek scene of the young hero Telemachus meeting the nymph-goddess Calypso. In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus’ son Telemachus never encounters Calypso, who detained his father on her island. Fénelon’s Les Aventures de Télémaque (1699), however, reimagines Telemachus’s journey, including his interaction with Calypso, as a didactic narrative, blending adventure with lessons in wisdom and leadership. Fénelon crafted the book for his pupil, the Duke of Burgundy. It became a European bestseller, widely read for its accessible prose and philosophical depth. Its influence persists today in republican democracies and strong leadership. Modern English translations, however, are scarce. The decision to undertake a modern translation of Télémaque in May 2023 was prompted by the recent public availability of Fénelon’s original manuscript through the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Hewitt’s focus on fidelity to the original text suggests a scholarly approach, striving to preserve what is known as the Fénelonian style of cadence and harmony, while blending classical epic with Enlightenment ideals. This new translation could fill the gap in classical literature from the wisdom of the ancients to the ideals of leadership that influenced the founding fathers of western democracies.