Publisher's Synopsis
Max O'Rell was the pen name of Leon Paul Blouet (1847-1903), a French author and journalist. After taking his BA and BSc at the Sorbonne in Paris, he enrolled at the Ecole Militaire and was called up to fight in the Franco-Prussian War, participating in the Battle of Worth, and in 1870 was taken prisoner at Sedan. Once released he was employed against the Commune in Paris and in 1871 was wounded and honourably discharged. In 1872 he left France for London to take up journalism and in 1874 obtained a post as senior master of French at the prestigious St Paul's London boys' school, marrying an Englishwoman later that year. In the early 1880s he embarked on a series of sketches about English life and 'John Bull et son Ile' was published in Paris in 1883 under the pseudonym Max O'Rell. The French edition was a great success and later the same year he produced an English edition (with the help of his wife) which sold well and was translated into 17 languages. The book's success encouraged O'Rell to continue producing similar collections of anecdotes and he went on to publish over a dozen titles. In 1885 he resigned from his teaching post and started a full-time career as an author and lecturer.
