Barbara Bray
Encyclopedia
Barbara Bray was a British translator and critic.
An identical twin (her sister Olive Classe is also a translator), she was educated at Girton College, Cambridge
, where she read English, with papers in French and Italian. Bray became a script editor in 1953 for the BBC Third Programme
, commissioning and translating European twentieth-century avant-garde writing for the network. Harold Pinter
wrote some of his earliest work at Bray's insistence, but her connection with Samuel Beckett
became personal as well as professional.
From about 1961 Bray lived in Paris and established a career as a translator and critic. She translated the correspondence of Gustave Flaubert
, and work by leading French writers of her own time including Marguerite Duras
, Amin Malouf, Julia Kristeva
, Michel Quint
, Jean Anouilh
, Michel Tournier
, Jean Genet
, Alain Bosquet
and Philippe Sollers
.
Her relationship with the married Beckett continued for the rest of his life, and Bray was one of the few people with whom the Irishman discussed his work. She suffered a stroke at the end of 2003.
An identical twin (her sister Olive Classe is also a translator), she was educated at Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. It was England's first residential women's college, established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon. The full college status was only received in 1948 and marked the official admittance of women to the...
, where she read English, with papers in French and Italian. Bray became a script editor in 1953 for the BBC Third Programme
BBC Third Programme
The BBC Third Programme was a national radio network broadcast by the BBC. The network first went on air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces in Britain, playing a crucial role in disseminating the arts...
, commissioning and translating European twentieth-century avant-garde writing for the network. Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
wrote some of his earliest work at Bray's insistence, but her connection with Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
became personal as well as professional.
From about 1961 Bray lived in Paris and established a career as a translator and critic. She translated the correspondence of Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert was a French writer who is counted among the greatest Western novelists. He is known especially for his first published novel, Madame Bovary , and for his scrupulous devotion to his art and style.-Early life and education:Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821, in Rouen,...
, and work by leading French writers of her own time including Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
, Amin Malouf, Julia Kristeva
Julia Kristeva
Julia Kristeva is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, literary critic, psychoanalyst, sociologist, feminist, and, most recently, novelist, who has lived in France since the mid-1960s. She is now a Professor at the University Paris Diderot...
, Michel Quint
Michel Quint
-Works:* Le testament inavouable, Fleuve Noir* Mauvaise conscience, Fleuve Noir* Posthume, Fleuve Noir* Hôtel des deux roses, Fleuve Noir* Bella ciao, Fleuve Noir* La dernière récré, Fleuve Noir* Mascarades, Fleuve Noir...
, Jean Anouilh
Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1943 play Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles' Classical drama, that was seen as an attack on Marshal Pétain's...
, Michel Tournier
Michel Tournier
Michel Tournier is a French writer.His works are highly considered and have won important awards such as the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française in 1967 for Friday, or, The Other Island and the Prix Goncourt for The Erl-King in 1970...
, Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
, Alain Bosquet
Alain Bosquet
Alain Bosquet, born Anatole Bisk , was a French poet.-Life:In 1925, his family moved to Brussels and he studied at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, then at the Sorbonne....
and Philippe Sollers
Philippe Sollers
Philippe Sollers is a French writer and critic. In 1960 he founded the avant garde journal Tel Quel , published by Seuil, which ran until 1982...
.
Her relationship with the married Beckett continued for the rest of his life, and Bray was one of the few people with whom the Irishman discussed his work. She suffered a stroke at the end of 2003.