November 22 marked George Eliot’s 195th birthday anniversary. Mary Ann Evans, pen name Eliot, was one of the leading novelists of the 19th Century and her novels are celebrated for providing psychological insight.
Nonetheless, Eliot is not as well-known in Iran, and only two of her novels ‘The Mill on the Floss’ (translated by Brayim Younisi), and ‘Middlemarch’ (translated by Mina Sarabi) have been published, Honaronline reported. Lately, translator Reza Rezaei has also been working on Eliot novels and plans to translate all her novels to Farsi. This includes ten of Eliot’s books which will be published by Nashreney publication in eight volumes. The project may take seven years before it is completed.
Rezaei had previously stated that projects like these are quite time-consuming; the main reason why not many classic works of literature are translated to Farsi. Among classics, most people only know a few works by the Brontë sisters or Jane Austen. There are several other canonical works penned in the 19th Century which have not been translated, while they are in fact indispensable to all contemporary writers.
Aside from Eliot, several other notable western writers remain relatively unknown in Iran, the main reason being that their works have not been made available. “The void needs to be filled” he said.
The last books translated by Rezaei were the complete works of the Brontë sisters, which were published by Nashreney publications.
