Elizabeth Lester Mullin (c.1874-1947)
Elizabeth Lester Mullin was a historian, translator, and storyteller. Her father, Michael A. Mullin, was a well-known lawyer and politician, a member of the Maryland state legislature and the Baltimore City council, and president of the Baltimore City Bar Association. Her mother, Elizabeth Clusky Mullin, was a prominent member of the Catholic church to which the family belonged. As a result, Mullin was deeply involved in Maryland society and history. She was an active member of the Maryland Historical Society and served as the secretary of the Edgar Allan Poe Memorial Association. She also served as treasurer of the WLCB. Mullin was fluent in French and published several translations and was also the author of short fiction. Through translation, Mullin brought to English speakers the stories and experiences of foreign lands, stories that expressed her own values and beliefs as well as those of their original authors. Translation is often viewed as a lesser or purely derivative form of literary work, and has often been relegated to women. Yet Mullin’s translations allowed these works to be disseminated to new audiences and modern readers.
Sources
“Mrs. Elizabeth C. Mullin.” Baltimore Sun, June 7, 1919.
“Michael A. Mullin Dead.” Baltimore Sun, June 10, 1915.
Maryland Historical Magazine 11 (1916): 69.
Edgar Allan Poe: A Centenary Tribute. Edgar Allan Poe Memorial Association (Baltimore: 1910).
“Elizabeth Lester Mullin (c. 1874–1952).” Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com). Accessed 29 April 2018.
Contributors
Katie Shiber