Peter Carson (3 October 1938 – 9 January 2013) was an English publisher, editor and 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 ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and learnt Russian at home from his mother and during his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

years at the Joint Services School for Linguists. He has translated two titles for Penguin Classics: several of

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's plays, WorldCat
/ref> and '' Fathers and Sons'' by Ivan Turgenev. WorldCat
/ref> The latter was praised by reviewers in the ''Times'' and the ''Times Literary Supplement''. Donald Rayfield wrote in the ''Times Literary Supplement'': "If you want to get as close as an English reader can to enjoying Turgenev, Carson is probably the best." He ironically completed a translation of ''

The Death of Ivan Ilyich ''The Death of Ivan Ilyich'' (also Romanized ''Ilich, Ilych, Ilyitch''; russian: Смерть Ивана Ильича, Smert' Ivána Ilyicha), first published in 1886, is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, considered one of the masterpieces of his late ...

'', a story of a dying man, and ''

A Confession ''A Confession'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Исповедь, Íspovedʹ), or ''My Confession'', is a short work on the subject of melancholia, philosophy and religion by the Russian novelist Leo Tol ...

'' shortly before his death. He was married to Eleo Gordon.Guardian obituary
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Peter English translators Linguists from the United Kingdom 1938 births 2013 deaths People educated at Eton College Russian–English translators English publishers (people) English male non-fiction writers 20th-century British translators 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English businesspeople