The Translations of Valery Larbaud

Literary Translation & the Cosmopolitan Ethos

The Translations of Valery Larbaud is a concise yet detailed study of Larbaud’s entire career as a translator. It will be of special interest to scholars of comparative literature and translation studies.

Allison Connell uses close analysis and comparative readings to show how Larbaud achieved the quality of translations for which he was famous.

Larbaud’s extensive translations of Samuel Butler and his role as rédacteur en chef in the translation of Joyce’s Ulysses into French are among his most significant achievements. In addition, he translated literary work from Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Larbaud traveled widely and lived in several countries other than France. His work as a translator included literary exploration that advanced a sense of transnational human solidarity. Allison Connell’s study of Larbaud brings the significance of this cosmopolitan worldview into full consideration.

Professor Connell writes in such a clear and precise way his book will be read with delight by scholars of comparative literature and literary history whether or not they are engaged in translation studies.

Allison Connell is a graduate of Mount Allison University and the Sorbonne. He taught at the University of Winnipeg for five years and was Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of Alberta from 1965 to 1980. Since retirement, he has lived in Woodstock, New Brunswick and has been active in the heritage conservation movement of his home region. He is the author of A View of Woodstock: Historic Homes of the Nineteenth Century.