Harry Taylor Willetts (1922 – 7 April 2005) was an English scholar of Russian, and English language translator of Russian literatures.

Early life

In 1922, Willetts was born. Willetts' father was Albert Willetts. Willetts' mother was Alice Taylor.

Education

From 1940 to 1947, Willetts studied at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

Career

Willetts was professor of

Russian history The history of Russia begins with the histories of the East Slavs. The traditional start-date of specifically Russian history is the establishment of the Rus' people, Rus' state in the north in 862, ruled by Varangians. Staraya Ladoga and Veli ...

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 ...

. Willetts was director of the Russian and East European Centre at

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economic ...

, where his colleagues included the noted Russian scholars

Max Hayward Harry Maxwell "Max" Hayward (28 July 1924, London – 18 March 1979, Oxford) was a British lecturer on and translator of Russian literature. He has been described as "the best and most prolific translator of Russian prose into English since Consta ...

, Harry Shukman and

William Deakin Sir Frederick William Dampier Deakin DSO (3 July 1913 – 22 January 2005) was a British historian, World War II veteran, literary assistant to Winston Churchill and the first warden of St Antony's College, Oxford. Life Deakin was educated ...

. A prolific translator of

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were c ...

, Willetts is best known for his translations of the works of the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner

Alexander Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...

. As a translator, he is often credited as H.T. Willetts. After 1947, Willetts joined the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

in the Moscow embassy. Willetts joined St Antony's College in 1960.

Personal life

In 1957 Willetts married Halina Szenbaum, a Polish Jew, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. Willetts' son was

Sam Willetts Sam Willetts (born 1962) is an English poet. He was born and raised in Oxford. His father Harry Willetts was a noted scholar and translator of Russian at St. Antony's College, Oxford. Sam studied English at Wadham College. He has struggled with ...

, who first used drugs at age 11. He also had two other children: Cathy and Isobel. Willetts was preceded in death by his wife Halina.St Antony's obit
Their son

became a poet and a drug addict.

References

External links

H. T. Willetts at librarything.com

Russian and Eurasian Studies Centre Library at St. Antony's College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willetts, Harry English translators Russian–English translators Slavists Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford 1922 births 2005 deaths 20th-century British translators 20th-century English historians Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford