Brian Nelson (born 29 September 1946 in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, UK) is a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of French Studies at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

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. Nelson graduated with an undergraduate degree from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and did postgraduate work at

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where he obtained his D.Phil. in 1979. Before going to Monash he taught one year in Paris (1970–71) and several years at the University of Wales Aberystwyth (1973–86). In 1986, he became professor at Monash and retired in 2008. Nelson taught modern French literature and cultural history, and

literary translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

. In addition to a number of monographs including ''Zola and the Bourgeoisie'' and ''Émile Zola: A Selective Analytical Bibliography'', he has made a number of modern translations of

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

for the

Oxford World's Classics Oxford World's Classics is an imprint of Oxford University Press. First established in 1901 by Grant Richards and purchased by OUP in 1906, this imprint publishes primarily dramatic and classic literature for students and the general public. I ...

series. Speaking about his translation of ''The Belly of Paris'', Nelson said: :My aim as a translator is to transform Zola's prose into a work of art that approaches the original, that is, is faithful to the spirit of the original. This means capturing the structure and rhythms, the tone and texture, and the lexical choices --in sum, the particular idiom-- of Zola's novel, as well as preserving the "feel" of the social context out of which the novel emerged and which it represents. Nelson was formerly the editor of the '' Australian Journal of French Studies'' (2002-2020), co-founded the journal '' Romance Studies'', edited the monograph series ''Monash Romance Studies'', and is a former President of AALITRA (the Australian Association for Literary Translation).

Works

Author *''Zola and the Bourgeoisie: A Study of Themes and Techniques in Les Rougon-Macquart'' (1982) *''Émile Zola: A Selective Analytical Bibliography'' (1982) *''The Cambridge Introduction to French Literature'' (2015) *''Emile Zola: A Very Short Introduction'' (2020) Editor *''Naturalism in the European novel: New Critical Perspectives'' (1992) *''Telling Performances: Essays on gender, narrative and performance'' (2001) *''Practising Theory: Pierre Bourdieu and the Field of Cultural Production'' (2004) *''After Blanchot: Literature, Philosophy, Criticism'' (2005) *''The Cambridge Companion to Zola'' (2007) *''Perspectives on Literature and Translation: Creation, Circulation, Reception'' (2013) Translator *Emile Zola, '' The Ladies' Paradise'' (Oxford, 1995) *Emile Zola, '' Pot Luck'' (Oxford, 1999) *Emile Zola, ''

The Kill "The Kill" (written "The Kill (Bury Me)" on the single and music video) is a song by American band Thirty Seconds to Mars. The song was released on January 24, 2006 as the second single from their second album, ''A Beautiful Lie''. It was certi ...

'' (Oxford, 2004) *Emile Zola, ''

The Belly of Paris ''Le Ventre de Paris'' (1873) is the third novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series ''Les Rougon-Macquart''. It is set in and around Les Halles, the enormous, busy central market of 19th-century Paris. Les Halles, rebuilt in cast iron and gl ...

'' (Oxford, 2007) *Emile Zola, '' The Fortune of the Rougons'' (Oxford, 2012) *Emile Zola, ''

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

'' (Oxford, 2016) *Emile Zola, '' His Excellency Eugène Rougon'' (Oxford, 2018) *Emile Zola, '' The Assommoir'' (Oxford, 2021) *Marcel Proust, '' Swann in Love'' (Oxford, 2017)

Awards and honours

* Jebb Studentship (University of Cambridge) (1969–71) * Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques (2003) * Runner-up, International Federation of Translators “Aurora Borealis” Prize for Outstanding Translation of Fiction (2011) * Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (2011) *Winner of the Translation Prize,

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

(2015)

Notes

External links

"Book Interview: Translator Brian Nelson on Finally Hearing Émile Zola’s Voice in English"
''artsfuse.org'', May 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Brian Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of the University of Oxford Living people Australian translators Academic staff of Monash University People from Holbeach 1946 births Translators of Émile Zola