Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Blouet, Léon Paul
BLOUET, LÉON PAUL ('Max O'Rell') (1848–1903), humorous writer, born in Brittany on 2 March 1848 and educated in Paris, served as a cavalry officer in the Franco-German war, was captured at Sedan, set at liberty early in 1871, and severely wounded in the second siege of Paris. In 1872 (having been retired on account of his wound) he came to England as correspondent to several French papers, and four years later became French master at St. Paul's school, wrote several manuals and edited texts. In 1887, under the pseudonym of 'Max O'Rell,' which he permanently adopted, he dedicated to John Bull his 'John Bull et son Île,' a vivacious picture of English eccentricities and racial characteristics. It was translated by his English wife (born Bartlett) and achieved a success so rapid as to determine the writer to abandon his teaching career, successful as it had hitherto proved, for one of popular writing and lecturing. There flowed from his pen in rapid succession 'John Bull's Womankind' (1884), 'The Dear Neighbours' (1885), 'Friend Macdonald' (1887), 'Drat the Boys' (1886), in collaboration with Georges Petilleau, 'John Bull, Junior' (1889), 'Jonathan and his Continent' (1889), 'A Frenchman in America' (1891), 'John Bull and Co.' (1894), 'Woman and Artist' (dedicated to his wife, 1900), 'Her Royal Highness Woman' (dedicated 'to the nicest little woman in the world,' 1901), 'Between Ourselves' (1902), and 'Rambles in Womanland' (1903). All of these were written originally in French and were produced almost simultaneously in English. Many were translated into other languages. In 1887 and 1890 he lectured in America; in 1893 with his wife and daughter he made a round of the English colonies, his readiness as a speaker and lecturer ensuring him a welcome everywhere from people who like to see their foibles presented in a humorous light. In 1902 he settled in the Champs Elysées quarter of Paris as correspondent of the 'New York Journal' and wrote in the French 'Figaro' in support of the entente cordiale between England and France. He died of cancer in the stomach at 9 Rue Freycinet on 25 May 1903, and was buried in the church of St. Pierre de Chaillot. A tolerant, shrewd, and on the whole impartial observer, on lines inherited from Voltaire, About, Taine, and Jules Verne, Blouet mixed a good deal of flattery with his smart and witty banter, and with the leverage thus gained was able now and again to tell an unpalatable truth, not entirely without effect.
[The Times, 26 May 1903; Illustr. Lond. News, 30 May 1903 (portrait); Nouveau Larousse; Men and Women of the Time; Blouet's works.]