author
George M. (George Makepeace) Towle
1841–1893
Best known for bringing Jules Verne to English-language readers, this 19th-century American writer moved easily between literature, journalism, law, and public life. His career took him from Boston newsrooms and politics to diplomatic posts in Europe, giving his work a lively international flavor.
1 Audiobook
The Nation in a Nutshell
by George M. (George Makepeace) Towle
About the author
Born in Washington, D.C., in 1841, George Makepeace Towle was educated at Yale and Harvard Law School before beginning a varied career as a lawyer, journalist, editor, and author. He also served in the United States consular service in France and England, experiences that helped shape his broad, worldly interests.
Towle wrote histories, travel writing, biographies, and fiction, but he is especially remembered as a translator of Jules Verne. His 1873 English version of Around the World in Eighty Days helped introduce Verne's adventure writing to many readers in the English-speaking world.
He later remained active in Boston literary and public life, including service in the Massachusetts Senate. Towle died in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1893, leaving behind a body of work that reflects both curiosity about the wider world and a strong gift for popular storytelling.