Penguin First Editions :: Early First Edition Penguin Books

Translators are very much a hidden group of people. We think of the book and the author, we may remember the image of the front cover, but the person who has transformed the novel, poem or non-fiction book into the English language and made it a delight to read is often overlooked.

Probably the exception to this was the 'Classics Series' which brought new translations of the major Classics. The first was 'L1', Homer's Odyssey, translated by E.V. Rieu, who was also the first editor of the series. In fact, over the years, this first book - the E. V. Rieu translation, sold more than three million copies. The series involved translating well known classics from over 25 languages.

On these pages we list in alphabetical order the translators whose books are included in this web-site. This list is updated as new material is added to the site.

Book illustrated above left:
The first Penguin Classic - Number 'L1' The Odyssey by Homer was translated from the Greek by E. V. Rieu.

In Fifty Penguin Years, Linda Lloyd Jones writes about Allen Lane taking risks:
"The Classics had been launched in 1946 with E. V. Rieu's translation of Homer's 'The Odyssey'. Dr Rieu had developed the evening pastime of translating aloud to his wife so that she too could enjoy the books that so absorbed him. At her suggestion he wrote down his version of 'The Odyssey', and when the war ended, he presented the manuscript to Penguin. There was a heated debate amongst editorial board members about the desirability of yet another translation: there were already several other editions available in English, and none was reputed to have sold more than 3,000 copies. Allen Lane ignored the advice and insisted that 'The Odyssey' should not only be accepted but that Rieu be appointed to commission translations of other classics to form a new series. 'The Odyssey's' spectacular success surpassed even Allen Lane's expectations. Reviewers and readers praised the book ... Rieu went on to translate Virgil's 'Pastoral Poems', Homer's 'The Illiad', 'The Four Gospels' and Apollonius of Rhodes's 'The Voyage of the Argo'. When he retired as series editor in 1964 there were over 130 Penguin Classics titles selling nearly a million copies a year"

Emile Victor Rieu CBE (1877-1972) [pictured above] was educated at St Paul's Scool and Balliol College, Oxford. He worked for Oxford University Press in Bombay, and then at Methuen's in London, where he became managing director in 1933. He became the editor of the Penguin Classics series in 1946.

Information on the 'Translators' with cover photographs of the books shown

Paige	Translator: D. D. PAIGE Language: Italian Books: 2599;
Pálsson	Translator: HERMANN PÁLSSON Hermann Pálsson (1921-2002) Language: Icelandic Books: L103 (with Magnus Magnusson); L154 (with Magnus Magnusson);
Pares	Translator: BERNARD PARES Sir Bernard Pares KBE (1867 - 1949) Language: Russian Books: 390;
Parker	Translator: RALPH PARKER Language: Russian Books: 2053;
Paul	Translator: EDEN and CEDAR PAUL Language: Russian Books: AC5;
Pennington	Translator: ANNE PENNINGTON Language: Serbian Books: D114;
Perl	Translator: MICHAEL PERL Language: French Books: S263;
Petrie	Translator: JOHN PETRIE Language: French Books: 2178; 2314;
Petrovich	Translator: MICHAEL B. PETROVICH Language: Serbo-Croat Books: 1967;
Pevsner	Translator: DIETER PEVSNER Language: German Books: Z19;
Pickles	Translator: W. PICKLES Language: French Books: S84;
Pidgeon	Translator: MARIE KIERSTED PIDGEON Language: Dutch Books: PS17;
Pine-Coffin	Translator: R. S. PINE-COFFIN Language: Italian Books: L77; Language: Latin Books: L114;
Pleasants	Translator: HENRY PLEASANTS Language: German Books: Y32;
Pokrovsky	Translator: M. POKROVSKY Language: Russian Books: PS38;
Pomerans	Translator: ARNOLD J. POMERANS Arnold Pomerans (1920 - 2005) Language: German/French Books: S268;
Portch	Translator: ELIZABETH PORTCH Language: Swedish Books: PS4150;
Prawer	Translator: SIEGBERT SOLOMON PRAWER S. S. Prawer (1925 - 2012) Language: German Books: Q44; R25;
Preston	Translator: TREVOR S. PRESTON Language: Dutch Books: A710;
Quigly	Translator: ISABEL QUIGLY Language: Italian Books: 2738;
Radice	Translator: BETTY RADICE Betty Radice (1912 - 1985) Language: Latin Books: L127; L156;
Ramos	Translator: MYRA BERGMAN RAMOS Language: Portuguese Books: X331;
Rawlinson	Translator: GEORGE RAWLINSON George Rawlinson (1812 - 1902) Language: Ancient Greek Books: 330; 396;
Read	Translator: ALBERT READ Language: Swedish Books: A911;
Reavey	Translator: GEORGE REAVEY George Reavey (1907 - 1976) Language: Russian Books: 1547;
Renier	Translator: OLIVE RENIER Language: Dutch Books: Y10; Z18;
Reynolds	Translator: BARBARA REYNOLDS Barbara Reynolds (1914 - ) Language: Italian Books: L105 (with Dorothy L. Sayers);
Richard	Translator: BARRY RICHARD Language: French Books: S215;
Richardson	Translator: JOANNA RICHARDSON Language: French Books: 2388;
Rieu	Translator: E. V. RIEU E. V. Rieu CBE (1887 - 1972) Language: Ancient Greek Books: L1; L14; L32; L56; L85; P21(USA); SE18; USA-613; Language: Latin Books: L8;
Robbins	Translator: J. J. ROBBINS Language: Russian Books: 2641;
Rossi	Translator: NORA ROSSI Language: Italian Books: X245 (with Tom Cole);
Rothenburg	Translator: JEROME ROTHENBURG Language: Books: D112 (with Michael Hamburger and Hans Enzensberger);
Round	Translator: DORA ROUND Language: Dutch Books: P131;
Rush A	Translator: AUBREY RUSH Language: Danish Books: NG10;
Rush D	Translator: DAVID RUSH Language: Swedish Books: NG5; NG6;
Russell	Translator: ALAN RUSSELL Language: French Books: L15;
Ryan	Translator: NIGEL RYAN Nigel Ryan CBE (1929 - 2014) Language: French Books: 1363; 1419; 1456; 1854;
Sainsbury	Translator: GEOFFREY SAINSBURY Language: French Books: 739; 826; 856; 1223; 1224; 1225; 1328; 2246 (with Stuart Gilbert);
Sandars	Translator: N. K. SANDARS Language: Sumerian and Babylonian Books: L100;
Sayers	Translator: DOROTHY L. SAYERS Dorothy L. Sayers (1893 - 1957) Language: Italian Books: L6; L46; L105 (with Barbara Reynolds); Language: French Books: L75;
Scarfe	Translator: FRANCIS SCARFE Francis Scarfe (1911 - 1986) Language: French Books: D56;
Schimmel	Translator: HAROLD SCHIMMEL Language: Hebrew Books: D141 (with Assia Gutmann and Ted Hughes);
Scott	Translator: PETER DALE SCOTT Peter Dale Scott (1929 - ) Language: Polish Books: D104 (with Czeslaw Milosz);
Scott-Kilvert	Translator: IAN SCOTT-KILVERT Ian Scott Kilvert (1917 - 1989) Language: Ancient Greek Books: L102; L158;
Sebba	Translator: HELEN SEBBA Language: French Books: 2254; 2571;
Sélincourt	Translator: AUBREY DE SÉLINCOURT Aubrey de Sélincourt (1894 - 1962) Language: Ancient Greek Books: L34; L81; Language: Latin Books: L104; L145;
Silver	Translator: PAUL SELVER Paul Selver (1888 - 1970) Language: Czech Books: 802; S37; S-US211; Language: French Books: S3;
Senhouse	Translator: ROGER SENHOUSE Roger Henry Pocklington Senhouse (1899 - 1970) Language: French Books: 1313; 1359; 1830 (with Yvonne Moyse); 2416 (with Yvonne Moyse);
Sewter	Translator: E. R. A. SEWTER Language: Italian Books: L169;
Shaw	Translator: M. R. B. SHAW Language: French Books: L30; L61; L124;
Sheridan	Translator: ALAN SHERIDAN Language: French Books: X389;
Sherley-Price	Translator: LEO SHERLEY-PRICE Language: Latin Books: L27; L42; Language: Old English and Latin Books: L74; Language: Italian Books: L91;
Sherrard	Translator: PHILLIP SHERRARD Phillip Sherrard (1922 - 1995) Language: Greek Books: D91 (with Edmund Keeley);
Shôzô	Translator: KAJIMA SHÔZÔ Language: Japanese Books: D145 (with Harry and Lynn Guest);
Sinclair L	Translator: LOUISE SINCLAIR Language: Italian Books: 2052;
Sinclair T	Translator: T. A. SINCLAIR Language: Ancient Greek Books: L125;
Sjoberg	Translator: L. SJOBERG Language: Swedish Books: D138 (with W. H. Auden);
Sloman	Translator: H. N. P. SLOMAN Language: French Books: L2; L20; L65; L115; L161;
Smith B	Translator: BAPTISTA GILLIAT SMITH Language: Italian Books: 1519 (with Bernard Wall and Frances Frenaye);
Smith N	Translator: NORMAN L. SMITH Language: Chinese Books: D65 (with Robert Kotewell);
Solotaroff	Translator: LYNN SOLOTAROFF Language: Russian Books: X579; X580;
Spink	Translator: JOHN S. SPINK Language: Russian Books: 466;
Staniforth	Translator: MAXWELL STANIFORTH Language: Latin Books: L140;
Steinberg	Translator: HANNAH STEINBERG Language: German Books: A279 (with Arthur Summerfield);
Stevenson	Translator: PAUL STEVENSON Language: Russian Books: 2877 (with Manya Harari);
Stewart	Translator: JEAN STEWART Language: French Books: 2024; 2471; 2503;
Stone B	Translator: BRIAN STONE Brian Ernest Stone (1919 - 1995) Language: Old English Books: L92; L144;
Stone P	Translator: P. W. K. STONE Language: French Books: L116;
Sudley	Translator: LORD SUDLEY Language: French Books: L25;
Sullivan	Translator: JOHN SULLIVAN Language: Latin Books: L159;
Summerfield	Translator: ARTHUR SUMMERFIELD Language: German Books: A279 (with Hannah Steinberg);
Sutton	Translator: ERIC SUTTON Language: French Books: 624; 1521; 1823;
Tancock	Translator: L. W. TANCOCK Language: French Books: L13; L45; L95; L120; L134; L173;
Tanner	Translator: ROGER TANNER Language: Swedish Books: NG2; NG3; NG9; NG13;
Tate	Translator: JOAN TATE Language: Danish Books: NG4; NG8;
Taylor	Translator: EDGAR TAYLOR Edgar Taylor (1793 - 1839) Language: German Books: PS52;
Theiner	Translator: GEORGE THEINER Language: Czech Books: D95 (with Ian Milner); D130 (with Edwald Osers);
Thwaite	Translator: ANTHONY THWAITE Anthony Simon Thwaite OBE (1930 - ) Language: Japanese Books: D77 (with Geoffrey Bownas);
Thompson M	Translator: M. W. THOMPSON Language: Russian Books: A495;
Thompson W	Translator: W. MARMADUKE THOMPSON Language: French Books: 1465;
Thomson	Translator: J. A. K. THOMSON Language: Ancient Greek Books: L55;
Tiller	Translator: TERENCE TILLER Terence Tiller (1916 - 1987) Language: Old English Books: L128;
Trask	Translator: WILLARD R. TRASK Language: French Books: 2892;
Tredennick	Translator: HUGH TREDENNICK Language: Ancient Greek Books: L37;
Troubridge	Translator: UNA VINCENZO TROUBRIDGE Una Vincenzo, Lady Troubridge (1887 - 1963) Language: Italian Books: 1797; Language: French Books: 2535 (with Enid McLeod);
Turner	Translator: PAUL TURNER Language: Ancient Greek Books: L59; L117;
Tyson	Translator: ALAN TYSON Alan Tyson (1926 - 2000) Language: German Books: A519;
Varèse	Translator: LOUISE VARÈSE Language: French Books: 2245;
Vellacott	Translator: PHILIP VELLACOTT Philip Vallacott (1907 - 1997) Language: Ancient Greek Books: L31; L44; L67; L112; L129;
Vesey	Translator: DESMOND I. VESEY Language: German Books: 1515 (with Christopher Isherwood);
Vevers	Translator: GWYNNE VEVERS Language: Danish Books: NG1;
Waddell	Translator: HELEN WADDELL Helen Waddell (1889 - 1965) Language: Latin Books: L29;
Wake	Translator: THURFRIDA WAKE Language: French Books: 282 (with Wilfred Jackson);
Waley	Translator: ARTHUR WALEY Arthur Waley CH CBE (1889 - 1966) Language: Chinese Books: L111;
Walford	Translator: NAOMI WALFORD Language: Danish Books: 1430;
Walker	Translator: LESLIE J. WALKER Language: Latin Books: AC14;
Wall	Translator: BERNARD WALL Language: Italian Books: 1519 (with Baptista Gilliat Smith and Frances Frenaye);
Warner	Translator: REX WARNER Rex Warner (1905 - 1986) Language: Ancient Greek Books: L7; L39; L84; L175;
Wason	Translator: R. J. WASON Language: Russian Books: S195 (with H. E. Crowcroft);
Watkin	Translator: E. I. WATKIN E. I. Watkin (1888 - 1981) Language: French Books: A50; A52; A69;
Watling	Translator: E. F. WATLING E. F. Watling (1899 - 1990) Language: Ancient Greek Books: L3; Language: Latin Books: L28; L136; L149; L174;
Watson	Translator: DONALD WATSON Language: French Books: PL13;
Watts A	Translator: A. E. WATTS Language: Latin Books: L166;
Watts P	Translator: PETER WATTS Language: Swedish Books: L82; Language: Norwegian Books: L135; L146; L167;
Wayne	Translator: PHILIP WAYNE Language: German Books: L12; L93;
Weaver H	Translator: HELEN WEAVER Language: French Books: A959 (with Richard Howard);
Weaver W	Translator: WILLIAM WEAVER Language: Italian Books: 2977;
Webb	Translator: J. F. WEBB Language: Books: L153;
Wedgwood	Translator: C. V. WEDGWOOD Language: German Books: 2287;
Wellesley	Translator: KENNETH WELLESLEY Language: Latin Books: L150;
Wells	Translator: PAM WELLS Language: French Books: X384;
Welsh	Translator: D. J. WELSH Language: Polish Books: 2343;
Westhoff	Translator: ROBERT WESTHOFF Language: French Books: 2851;
Wevill	Translator: DAVID WEVILL David Wevill (1935 - ) Language: Hungarian Books: D127 (with Edwin Morgan);
White A	Translator: ANTONIA WHITE Language: French Books: 2013; 2014; 2015; 2016; 2661; 2953;
White T	Translator: TONY WHITE Language: French Books: 2025; 2316; 2638;
Wiles	Translator: PETER WILES Language: French Books: 1501; 1841;
Wilkins	Translator: EITHNE WILKINS Language: French Books: 1235 (with Ernst Kaiser, and Willa and Edwin Muir); 1520 (with Ernst Kaiser);
Williams	Translator: CAERWYN WILLIAMS John Ellis Caerwyn Williams (1912 - 1999) Language: Welsh Books: D96 (with Anthony Conran);
Williamson	Translator: G. A. WILLIAMSON G. A. Williamson (1895 - 1982) Language: Ancient Greek Books: L90; L138;
Wilson	Translator: MARJORIE KERR WILSON Language: Books: 2214;
Winter	Translator: ELLA WINTER Ella Winter (1898 - 1980) Language: German Books: A382;
Wollaston	Translator: ARTHUR WOLLASTON Language: French Books: L97;
Wolters	Translator: CLIFTON WOLTERS Clifton Wolters (1909 - 1991) Language: Old English Books: L108;
Wood	Translator: JOHN WOOD Language: French Books: L36; L89; L133;
Woods	Translator: KATHERINE WOODS Katherine Woods (1886 - 1968) Language: French Books: PS184;
Woodward	Translator: DAPHNE WOODWARD Daphne Woodward Language: French Books: 1221; 1681; 2023; 2064; 2248; 2526; 2680; 2796; 2863;
Wright	Translator: DAVID WRIGHT David John Murray Wright (1920 - 1994) Language: Old English Books: L70;
Zoete	Translator: BERYL DE ZOETE Beryl de Zoete (1879 - 1962) Language: Italian Books: 1460; 2319;

INDEX to TRANSLATORS A-G H-O P-Z

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