Geoffrey Brereton (1906 – 1979) was a scholar and critic of French literature and

Spanish literature Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wit ...

.R.C.K.
"Geoffrey Brereton (1906–1979)"
''

French Studies ''French Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for French Studies. It was established in 1947 and covers all periods of French and francophone literature and culture ...

'', Volume XXXIII, Issue 4, October 1979, pp. 502-503. Retrieved 21 September 2021.J.C.
"Dr. Geoffrey Brereton (1906-1979)"
''Seventeenth-Century French Studies Newsletter'', 2:1, 4-4 (1980). Retrieved 21 September 2021.

Education

Geoffrey Brereton studied

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and Spanish at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and took a doctorate thesis in Paris on José de Espronceda. He did some school teaching and taught and practised

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

, being a

foreign correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

for several newspapers, including the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

''. At the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

joined the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

French Service in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, as writer and eventually director.

Works

His first scholarly publication, ''Jean Racine: A Critical Biography'' (1951), has been described as the best full study of

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

's life and works in English. He also wrote a ''Short History of French Literature'' (1954), an ''Introduction to the French Poets'' (1956), and edited the ''Penguin Book of French Verse'', vol. 2 (1958). Initially funded by a Leverhulme Fellowship, the last part of his research was spent studying the French classical theatre and saw the publication of ''Principles of Tragedy'' (1968), ''French Tragic Drama'' (1973) and ''French Comic Drama'' (1977). All of his work as author, editor, translator and reviewer was done as a freelance, and rarely saw direct academic recognition. While being written a "wide, general readership", his works still contained "original, succinct, and often thought-provoking judgments". A "fundamentally shy and engagingly modest man" with a "quiet and delightful sense of humour", he made a distinctive and distinguished contribution to French studies" in the United Kingdom and "placed many readers permanently in his debt".

Bibliography

As an author

* ''Inside Spain'', London: Quality Press, 1938 * ''Jean Racine: A Critical Biography'', London: Cassell, 1951 * ''A Short History of French Literature'', Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1954 (Pelican books, A297) * ''Principles of Tragedy: A Rational Examination of the Tragic Concept in Life and Literature'', London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968 * ''An Introduction to French Poets: Villon to the Present Day'', London: Methuen, 1956; 2nd edition, 1973 * ''French Tragic Drama in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries'', London: Methuen, 1973 (University Paperbacks, 498) * ''French Comic Drama from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century'', London: Methuen, 1977 (University Paperbacks, 607)

As an editor

* ''The Penguin Book of French Verse, 2: Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries'', Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1954 (Penguin Poets, D43) * ''Les Mains Sales'', Jean-Paul Sartre, Methuen & Co., London, 1966

As a translator

* Jean Froissart, ''Chronicles'', Baltimore: Penguin, 1968 (Penguin Classics, L200)Penguin Classics - Book Series List
publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 22 September 2021. * Charles Perrault, ''Fairy Tales'', Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1957 (Penguin Classics, L69)Penguin Translators
penguinfirsteditions.com. Retrieved 21 September 2021.

References

External links

* George T. Northup
Review of ''Quelques précisions sur les sources d'Espronceda'' by Geoffrey Brereton, ''Hispanic Review''
Vol. 2, No. 3 (Jul., 1934), pp. 257–259 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brereton, Geoffrey 1906 births 1979 deaths Literary critics of French Literary critics of Spanish British translators