Helen Waddell
Helen Waddell (1889-1965) was a notable Irish scholar and writer, born in Tokyo to Irish Presbyterian missionaries. Following the early loss of her mother and father, she grew up in Belfast, where she pursued her education at the Victoria School for Girls and Queens College, earning an M.A. in 1912. Waddell gained recognition for her literary translations, notably with her first book, *Lyrics from the Chinese*, published in 1913, and her later influential work, *The Wandering Scholars*, which explored medieval wandering scholars and was published in 1927. She was also acclaimed for translating Latin poetry, including the famous *Carmina Burana*.
Throughout her life, Waddell interacted with prominent figures of her time, such as George Bernard Shaw and Queen Mary, and received several honors for her contributions to literature, including an honorary doctorate from Columbia University. Despite facing personal challenges, including health issues later in life, she continued to publish significant works until 1949. Waddell's legacy is marked by her ability to bridge cultural and literary gaps, making her translations vital in introducing ancient texts to modern audiences.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Helen Waddell
Writer
- Born: May 31, 1889
- Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
- Died: March 5, 1965
Biography
Helen Waddell was born on May 31, 1889, in Tokyo, Japan, to Hugh and Jenny Martin Waddell. Her parents were Irish Presbyterian missionaries. She lost her mother when she was only two years old; her father died when she was ten, soon after returning the family to Belfast. Waddell attended both the Victoria School for Girls and Queens College in Belfast. In 1912, she obtained her M.A. degree from Queens College.
By 1913, Waddell had published her first book, Lyrics from the Chinese, a translation of ancient Chinese poems. She also wrote The Spoiled Buddha, a play produced in Belfast in 1915. During these years in Belfast, Waddell cared for her ill stepmother, turning down the chance to study at Oxford. Her stepmother’s death in 1920 freed her to pursue her education, and she began studying at Somerville College, Oxford. In 1922, she left Oxford to teach for a year at Bedford College before traveling to Paris on a Susette Taylor traveling scholarship.
In Europe, she studied medieval wandering scholars. When she returned to London in 1925, she applied for a job as a manuscript reader at Constable. Coincidentally, she met Otto Kyllmann, who showed great interest in the manuscript she was preparing based on her research in Paris. Titled The Wandering Scholars, Kyllmann arranged for its publication in 1927. The book was well received. She followed this publication with Medieval Latin Lyrics (1929), a translation from Latin of poems from wandering medieval scholars. Perhaps the most famous of these poems are the twenty-seven translations of Carmina Burana, later made into an oratorio by Carl Orff in 1937.
Kyllman became a close friend to Waddell, and in 1932 hired her as a literary advisor at Constable. Her friends included some of the most important minds in England of the time, including Julian Huxley, George Bernard Shaw, Stanley Baldwin, and Queen Mary. In 1933, her novel Peter Abelard was published and turned out to be a highly successful work. The following year, she published Beasts and Saints, a book of translated Latin fables.
After almost dying in the bombing of London during World War II, Waddell continued to publish important work until 1949. It appears that she began suffering from extreme forgetfulness, in all probability Alzheimer’s disease, in the 1950’s, and by 1957, she no longer recognized those around her. She died in a nursing home in 1965.
Waddell was honored many times as a scholar and writer during her lifetime. In addition to the Susette Taylor traveling scholarship she received in 1923, her book The Wandering Scholars won the A.C. Benson Silver Medal from the Royal Society of Literature. She received an honorary doctorate from Columbia University in New York in 1935. She also received honorary degrees from the University of Belfast, Durham University, and St. Andrew’s College. Waddell was unusual for a woman of her day in producing such a distinguished corpus of work. Her translations, in particular, are cited as valuable for introducing ancient work to her contemporaries.