author
Isabelle de Montolieu
1751–1832
A Swiss novelist and translator who helped carry English and German fiction into French, she was one of the most widely read women of her era. Best known today for early French versions of Jane Austen, she also wrote popular original novels of her own.
1 Audiobook
Caroline de Lichtfield ou Mémoires extraits des papiers d'une famille prussienne
by Isabelle de Montolieu
About the author
Born in Lausanne in 1751, Isabelle de Montolieu was a Swiss woman of letters who wrote in French and became known for both fiction and translation. She published original novels, including Caroline de Lichtfield in 1786, and built a reputation with readers across Europe.
She was especially prolific as a translator and adapter, producing more than 100 volumes. Modern readers often remember her for making Jane Austen available to French audiences through early French translations of Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion.
Montolieu died in 1832, but her work still offers a vivid glimpse of literary life between the late Enlightenment and the early Romantic period. She stands out as a writer who did more than tell stories herself: she also helped stories travel.