Posted by Sterling on 27/11/2011, 10:13:59, in reply to "Re: Recent Reading"
98.71.93.253
I can't say, of course, which title Proust would have
: preferred, but it's impossible for him to have hated
: the translated English title. Proust died in 1922, and
: Moncrieff started the translation in 1922. I have read
: somewhere that Proust did not like his own French
: title, that he found it ugly.
:
I'm so pleased to see you posting again at ReadLit, Joffre, that I really don't want to argue. I don't know from what website I got the impression that Proust "hated" Moncrieff's title. However, the following is from the Wikipedia (for what it's worth):
"In a letter written on his deathbed in 1922, Proust congratulated Scott Moncrieff on his remarkable translation, but objected to the lack of ambiguity in the title: "Temps Perdu" meaning, in French both Lost Time and Wasted Time. However he apologised warmly for scarcely understanding English himself.(Letter from Proust to Scott Moncrieff dated 10th October 1922 in National Library, Edinburgh)"
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