author
William Young
1809–1888
Known today for a small body of 19th-century work, this writer is associated with English verse translations of Pierre-Jean de Béranger and with the 1868 collection Mathieu Ropars: et cetera. His surviving record is faint, which gives his work an extra air of literary curiosity.
1 Audiobook
Mathieu Ropars: et cetera
by William Young
About the author
Library and catalog records identify William Young (1809–1888) as the translator of Béranger: two hundred of his lyrical poems, done into English verse. That places him among the many 19th-century writers who helped carry popular European poetry into English for new readers.
He is also credited with Mathieu Ropars: et cetera, published in New York in 1868 and presented as the work of “an ex-editor.” The book appears to gather short literary pieces rather than a single long narrative, suggesting a writer comfortable moving between journalism, poetry, and miscellany.
Very little biographical detail was easy to confirm beyond those publication records and his life dates, so much of his personal story remains obscure. For modern listeners, that can make his work especially interesting: it offers a glimpse of a once-published Victorian-era voice that has largely slipped out of the usual literary spotlight.