ÃÂmile Vedel (born 21 August 1858 in Marseille; d. 12 February 1937 in Tahiti, French Polynesia) was a French naval officer and writer.
ÃÂmile Vedel was born in Marseille in southern France. He served in the French Navy (Marine nationale) and attained the rank of commandant (frigate captain). Vedel travelled extensively through the Far East and published several travelogues, novels, and accounts of his experiences at sea. He was a close friend of the writer Pierre Loti (1850âÂÂ1923), with whom he collaborated on a French translation of Shakespeare's King Lear. Vedel authored Lumières d'Orient (Lights of the East) and other works about his journeys to India, Ceylon, China, and Cambodia. Later, he spent time in Polynesia, where he adopted Princess Takau-Pà Âmare. He also published books on the First World War dealing with naval warfare. His literary and maritime work made him a notable representative of French naval literature of his time.
His daughter, princess Takau-Pomaré Vedel (1887âÂÂ1976), the daughter of Queen Marau Taaroa (1860âÂÂ1934) and ÃÂmile Vedel, translated and published the memoirs of her mother Marau Taaroa. In 1914, he took part in the First World War. In works as Sur nos fronts de mer (On Our Seashores) (1918) the âÂÂcommandantâ ÃÂmile Vedel recalls the war that raged along the shores of the seas.
According to the obituary by Aristide Maria, Vedel gathered an extensive collection of Tahitian folklore, which he did not have time to publish.
translations, etc.
naval literature: