Fénelon, François de Salignac de la Mothe,
The Adventures of Telemachus the son of Ulysses in ten books with the Adventures of Aristonus [...] transl. by Mr. Ozell (London: E. Curll/ J. Pemberton/ W. Taylor, 1715).

THE| ADVENTURES| OF| TELEMACHUS,| The SON of| ULYSSES.| [rule]| In Ten Books.| [rule]| With the Adventures of| ARISTONUS.| Written by the Archbishop of Cambray.| [rule]| Done from the New French Edition,| By Mr. OZELL.| [rule]| Adorn'd with Twelve Cuts, and a Map| of Telemachus's Travels. All curiously| Engraven by Mr. Vander Gucht.| [rule]| Vol. I.| [rule]| LONDON:| Printed for E. Curll at the Dial and Bible, and| J. Pemberton at the Buck and Sun, both against| St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet-street, and W. Taylor| at the Ship in Pater-Noster-Row. 1715. Price 6 s.

Description

[2 vols. sep. pag.] frontispiece [Pallas Athena leading Telemachus to a little temple]/ p.[i] titlepage/ p.[iii-iv] "Advertisement"; dat.: 20.5.1715; signed: J. Ozell/ p.iii-xxi[v] "Preface to the French Edition containing an Account of the Author and his Works"/ p.1-320 [Books 1-6]/ 2: new titlepage/ p.3-218/ engravings [Aristonus and Sophronimus in front of temple]/ titlepage/ p.121 [recte 221] "Advertisement by the Bookseller"/ p.221-41/ p.242-44 "A Specimen of Errors committed in the former Version of the Adventures of Telemachus"/ 12°.

Shelf-marks

{Cpem:} {L: 1507/1151 [ø titlepage ø pref; instead of this the opening pages of the new 1719-edition} {On:}.

Bibliographical Reference

ESTC: t134912

History of Publication

Source: Avantures de Télémaque, 1 (La Haye, 1699).

Self-classification

p.xvi-xxi: "Romance".

Remarks

Ozell justifies the new edition with the numerous mistakes which have crept into the adversary's preceeding editions (some of them are mentioned at the end of the preface). An additional novelty is the attempt to translate the French prose into English blank verse (the justified paragraphs do not make this too obvious - the book reaches the qualities of the new editions of Homer's Iliad - which again Ozell translated into English.) For criticism of Ozell's Fénelon translation see the preface of the rivalling edition (London: W. Churchill, 1719).

The preface of the French edition recapitulates the book's fame (allegedly there were years with more than 20 editions) and the martyr's life the author had suffered a a consequence of the mysticism of his catholic confession. The book is said again to have been published against the author's will by his servant whom he had dictated the volumes. Several critics are served with attacks. The general accusations are summarized: The theologian should not have become an author of "Romances", his stile seems to be too poetic. Ultimately his rivalling Homer earns the greatest praise.