Misplaced Pages

Rosemary Edmonds: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 09:03, 10 October 2017 editAntiquary (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, File movers, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers38,776 edits →top: She didn't edit Tolstoy← Previous edit Latest revision as of 02:26, 7 November 2024 edit undoPacker1028 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users33,653 editsm italicsTags: Mobile edit Mobile app edit iOS app edit App select source 
(26 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|British translator (1905–1998)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2011}} {{Use British English|date=May 2011}}
{{one source|date=October 2010}} {{more citations needed|date=October 2017}}
'''Rosemary Edmonds''' (20 October 1905 – 26 July 1998), born '''Rosemary Lilian Dickie''', was a British translator of Russian literature whose versions of ] have been in print for 50 years. '''Rosemary Lilian Edmonds''', née '''Dickie''' (20 October 1905 – 26 July 1998), was a British translator of Russian literature whose versions of the novels of ] have been in print for 50 years.


==Biography== ==Biography==
Edmonds was born in London, grew up in England, and studied English, Russian, French, Italian and Old Church Slavonic at universities in England, France and Italy. During World War II she was translator to General de Gaulle at Fighting France Headquarters in London, and after Liberation, in Paris.<ref>Her biography in Turgenev's ''Fathers and Sons'' 14 044147 6</ref> After this she was hired as a translator at Penguin books. Tolstoy was her specialty.<ref>Obituary: Rosemary Edmonds, by James Ferguson. Date: 14 August 1998. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-rosemary-edmonds-1171487.html</ref> Rosemary Dickie was born in London, grew up in England, and studied English, Russian, French, Italian and ] at universities in England, France and Italy. She married James Edmonds in 1927. The marriage was later dissolved.<ref>Obituary: Rosemary Edmonds, by James Fergusson. Date: 14 August 1998. {{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-rosemary-edmonds-1171487.html |title=Obituary: Rosemary Edmonds &#124; the Independent |website=] |accessdate=2017-09-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010160412/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-rosemary-edmonds-1171487.html |archivedate=10 October 2017}}</ref>


During World War II Rosemary Edmonds was translator to ] at ] Headquarters in London, and after Liberation, in Paris.<ref>Her biography in the Penguin Classics translation of Turgenev's ''Fathers and Sons''</ref> After this ] commissioned a series of translations from her. Tolstoy was her speciality.<ref>Obituary: Rosemary Edmonds, by James Fergusson. Date: 14 August 1998. {{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-rosemary-edmonds-1171487.html |title=Obituary: Rosemary Edmonds &#124; the Independent |website=] |accessdate=2017-09-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010160412/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-rosemary-edmonds-1171487.html |archivedate=10 October 2017}}</ref>
Her translation of '']'', entitled as ''Anna Karenin'', appeared in 1954. In a two-volume edition, her translation of '']'' was published in 1957. She also had published translations of ] and ].


Her translation of '']'', entitled ''Anna Karenin'', appeared in 1954. In a two-volume edition, her translation of '']'' was published in 1957. In the introduction she wrote that ''War and Peace'' "is a hymn to life. It is the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'' of Russia. Its message is that the only fundamental obligation of man is to be in touch with life . . . Life is everything. Life is God . . . To love life is to love God." Tolstoy's "private tragedy", she continues, "was that having got to the gates of the Optinsky monastery, in his final flight, he could go no further, and died." She also published translations of ] and ].
She took the name Edmonds from her husband James Edmonds. They married in 1927. The marriage was later dissolved.


Later in life she released translations of texts by members of the Russian orthodox church. In 1982 her translation of "The Orthodox Liturgy" was published by the Oxford University Press, "primarily for the use for the Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights in Essex". She had learned Old Church Slavonic to complete the project. Later in life she released translations of texts by members of the ]. In 1982 her translation of the ] was published by the ], "primarily for the use for the ] in Essex". She had learned Old Church Slavonic to complete the project.


The Australian critic ] thought Edmonds' version of ''Anna Karenina'', though not entirely satisfactory, reproduced Tolstoy's voice more closely than that of ] and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/linguafranca/anna-karenina/3479154#transcript |title=Anna Karenina... |last=Dessaix |first=Robert |date=21 April 2001 |website=Lingua Franca |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=10 October 2017 }}</ref> The academic Henry Gifford wrote of her work as a translator that it "is readable and it moves lightly and freely; the dialogue in particular is much more convincing than that contrived by ]", though he found her "sometimes lax about detail".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gifford |first1=Henry |year=2011 |orig-year=1978 |chapter=On Translating Tolstoy |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Malcolm |title=New Essays on Tolstoy|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bn9aYjoOxo0C&pg=PA23|location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=23 |isbn=9780521169219 }}</ref>
According to one critic, Edmonds' introductions to ''Anna Karenina'' and ''War and Peace'' are concise and elegant and show a masterful understanding of the nuance and subtlety of Tolstoy reflected by her skillful and readable translations.<ref>Linga Franca, ABC Radio (Australia), Robert Dessaix compares the Anna Karenina translation of Rosemary Edmonds with that of ] and ] -- and concludes Edmonds' is the more successful. Date: 21 April 2001. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/ling/stories/s280459.htm</ref>

She writes in the introduction to ''War and Peace'' that it "is a hymn to life. It is the Iliad and Odyssey of Russia. Its message is that the only fundamental obligation of man is to be in touch with life . . . Life is everything. Life is God . . . To love life is to love God."

Tolstoy's "private tragedy", she continues, "was that having got to the gates of the Optinsky monastery, in his final flight, he could go no further, and died."


==Translations== ==Translations==
*{{cite book| title=Anna Karenin| author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Penguin Classics | year=1954| isbn=978-0-14-062449-6 }} *{{cite book| title=Anna Karenin| author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Penguin Classics | year=1954| isbn=978-0-14-062449-6 }}
*{{cite book| title=War and Peace| author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds, introduction by Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Penguin Classics | year=1957| isbn=0-14-044417-3 }} *{{cite book| title=War and Peace| author=Leo Tolstoy| others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds, introduction by Rosemary Edmonds| publisher=Penguin Classics| year=1957| isbn=0-14-044417-3| url=https://archive.org/details/warpeacepenguinc00leot}}
*{{cite book| title=The Kreutzer Sonata And Other Stories| author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Penguin Classics | isbn=1-4179-2321-0 }} *{{cite book| title=The Kreutzer Sonata And Other Stories| year=1985| url=https://archive.org/details/kreutzersonataot00tols| url-access=registration| author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Penguin Classics | isbn=1-4179-2321-0 }}
*{{cite book| title=Resurrection| author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds| publisher=Penguin Classics | isbn=978-0-14-044184-0 }} *{{cite book | title=Resurrection | author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds | year=1966 | publisher=Penguin Classics | isbn=978-0-14-044184-0 | url=https://archive.org/details/resurrectionpeng00leot }}
*{{cite book| title=The Death of Ivan Ilyich: The Cossacks, Happy Ever After| author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds| publisher=Penguin Classics }} *{{cite book| title=The Death of Ivan Ilyich: The Cossacks, Happy Ever After (])| author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds| publisher=Penguin Classics }}
*{{cite book| title=Childhood, Boyhood, Youth| author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds| publisher=Penguin Classics | isbn=978-0-14-044139-0 }} *{{cite book | title=Childhood, Boyhood, Youth | author=Leo Tolstoy | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds | year=1964 | publisher=Penguin Classics | isbn=978-0-14-044139-0 | url=https://archive.org/details/childhoodboyhood00leot }}
*{{cite book| title=Fathers and Sons| author=Ivan Turgenev | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds| publisher=Penguin Classics| isbn=0-14-044147-6 }} *{{cite book| title=Fathers and Sons| author=Ivan Turgenev| others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds| year=1965| publisher=Penguin Classics| isbn=0-14-044147-6| url=https://archive.org/details/fatherssons200turg}}
*{{cite book| title=The Queen of Spades and Other Stories| author=Alexander Pushkin | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds, introduction by Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Penguin Classics | isbn=0-14-044119-0 }} *{{cite book| title=The Queen of Spades and Other Stories| author=Alexander Pushkin | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds, introduction by Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Penguin Classics | isbn=0-14-044119-0 }}
*{{cite book| title=His Life is Mine: A Spiritual Testimony| author=Archimandrite Sophrony | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Saint Vladimir's Seminary Press | year=1977 }} *{{cite book| title=His Life is Mine: A Spiritual Testimony| author=Sophrony Sakharov | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Saint Vladimir's Seminary Press | year=1977 }}
*{{cite book| title=We Shall See Him as He Is| author=Sophrony Sakharov| others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist | year=1988 | url=https://essexmonastery.com/bookshop/we-shall-see-him-as-he-is/ }}
*{{cite book| title=On Prayer| author=Sophrony Sakharov | others=Translator Rosemary Edmonds|publisher=Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist | year=1996 | url=https://essexmonastery.com/bookshop/on-prayer/ }}


==See also== ==See also==
Line 45: Line 44:
] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]

Latest revision as of 02:26, 7 November 2024

British translator (1905–1998)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Rosemary Edmonds" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Rosemary Lilian Edmonds, née Dickie (20 October 1905 – 26 July 1998), was a British translator of Russian literature whose versions of the novels of Leo Tolstoy have been in print for 50 years.

Biography

Rosemary Dickie was born in London, grew up in England, and studied English, Russian, French, Italian and Old Church Slavonic at universities in England, France and Italy. She married James Edmonds in 1927. The marriage was later dissolved.

During World War II Rosemary Edmonds was translator to General de Gaulle at Fighting France Headquarters in London, and after Liberation, in Paris. After this Penguin Books commissioned a series of translations from her. Tolstoy was her speciality.

Her translation of Anna Karenina, entitled Anna Karenin, appeared in 1954. In a two-volume edition, her translation of War and Peace was published in 1957. In the introduction she wrote that War and Peace "is a hymn to life. It is the Iliad and Odyssey of Russia. Its message is that the only fundamental obligation of man is to be in touch with life . . . Life is everything. Life is God . . . To love life is to love God." Tolstoy's "private tragedy", she continues, "was that having got to the gates of the Optinsky monastery, in his final flight, he could go no further, and died." She also published translations of Alexander Pushkin and Ivan Turgenev.

Later in life she released translations of texts by members of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1982 her translation of the Orthodox Liturgy was published by the Oxford University Press, "primarily for the use for the Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist at Tolleshunt Knights in Essex". She had learned Old Church Slavonic to complete the project.

The Australian critic Robert Dessaix thought Edmonds' version of Anna Karenina, though not entirely satisfactory, reproduced Tolstoy's voice more closely than that of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. The academic Henry Gifford wrote of her work as a translator that it "is readable and it moves lightly and freely; the dialogue in particular is much more convincing than that contrived by the Maudes", though he found her "sometimes lax about detail".

Translations

See also

References

  1. Obituary: Rosemary Edmonds, by James Fergusson. Date: 14 August 1998. "Obituary: Rosemary Edmonds | the Independent". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  2. Her biography in the Penguin Classics translation of Turgenev's Fathers and Sons
  3. Obituary: Rosemary Edmonds, by James Fergusson. Date: 14 August 1998. "Obituary: Rosemary Edmonds | the Independent". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  4. Dessaix, Robert (21 April 2001). "Anna Karenina..." Lingua Franca. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  5. Gifford, Henry (2011) . "On Translating Tolstoy". In Jones, Malcolm (ed.). New Essays on Tolstoy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 23. ISBN 9780521169219.

External links

Categories: