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| ==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'' |
Edmonds was born in London, grew up in England, and studied English, Russian, French, Italian and ] at universities in England, France and Italy. During World War II she 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 Ferguson. Date: 14 August 1998. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-rosemary-edmonds-1171487.html {{deadlink|date=October 2017}}</ref> | ||
| Her translation of '']'', entitled |
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. | She took the name Edmonds from her husband James Edmonds. They married in 1927. The marriage was later dissolved.{{cn|date=October 2017}} | ||
| Later in life she released translations of texts by members of the Russian |
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 staisfactory, 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|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Bn9aYjoOxo0C&pg=PA23&dq=%22sometimes+lax+about+detail%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22sometimes%20lax%20about%20detail%22&f=false |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=23 |isbn=9780521169219 |access-date=10 October 2017 }}</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== | ||
Revision as of 10:28, 10 October 2017
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Rosemary Edmonds" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2010) |
Rosemary Edmonds (20 October 1905 – 26 July 1998), born Rosemary Lilian Dickie, was a British translator of Russian literature whose versions of the novels of Leo Tolstoy have been in print for 50 years.
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. 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.
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.
The Australian critic Robert Dessaix thought Edmonds' version of Anna Karenina, though not entirely staisfactory, 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
- Leo Tolstoy (1954). Anna Karenin. Translator Rosemary Edmonds. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0-14-062449-6.
- Leo Tolstoy (1957). War and Peace. Translator Rosemary Edmonds, introduction by Rosemary Edmonds. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044417-3.
- Leo Tolstoy. The Kreutzer Sonata And Other Stories. Translator Rosemary Edmonds. Penguin Classics. ISBN 1-4179-2321-0.
- Leo Tolstoy. Resurrection. Translator Rosemary Edmonds. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0-14-044184-0.
- Leo Tolstoy. The Death of Ivan Ilyich: The Cossacks, Happy Ever After. Translator Rosemary Edmonds. Penguin Classics.
- Leo Tolstoy. Childhood, Boyhood, Youth. Translator Rosemary Edmonds. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0-14-044139-0.
- Ivan Turgenev. Fathers and Sons. Translator Rosemary Edmonds. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044147-6.
- Alexander Pushkin. The Queen of Spades and Other Stories. Translator Rosemary Edmonds, introduction by Rosemary Edmonds. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044119-0.
- Archimandrite Sophrony (1977). His Life is Mine: A Spiritual Testimony. Translator Rosemary Edmonds. Saint Vladimir's Seminary Press.
See also
References
- Her biography in the Penguin Classics translation of Turgenev's Fathers and Sons
- Obituary: Rosemary Edmonds, by James Ferguson. Date: 14 August 1998. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-rosemary-edmonds-1171487.html
- Dessaix, Robert (21 April 2001). "Anna Karenina..." Lingua Franca. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- Gifford, Henry (2011) . "On Translating Tolstoy". In Jones, Malcolm (ed.). New Essays on Tolstoy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 23. ISBN 9780521169219. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
External links
- Translated Penguin Books - at Penguin First Editions reference site of early first edition Penguin Books.