Terence Kevin Kilmartin

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(10 January 1922 – 17 August 1991) was an Irish-born

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

who served as the

literary editor A literary editor is a editor responsible for refining and overseeing the quality of written content in a newspaper, magazine or other publication. Literary editor deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews. A literary ...

of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' between 1952 and 1986. He is best known for his 1981 revision of the Scott Moncrieff translation of ''

Remembrance of Things Past ''In Search of Lost Time'' (), first translated into English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'', and sometimes referred to in French as ''La Recherche'' (''The Search''), is a novel in seven volumes by French author Marcel Proust. This early twen ...

'' by

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

Early life and career in journalism

Kilmartin was born on 10 January 1922 in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

. Moving to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

as a child, he was educated at

Xaverian College Xaverian College is a Roman Catholic college located in Rusholme, Manchester, England, approximately south of the city centre. Established in 1862, it is recognised as being one of the most oversubscribed sixth form colleges in Greater Manches ...

in Mayfield,

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. His knowledge of French was limited at the age of 17, when he was recruited to teach English to a French family's children. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Kilmartin was keen to serve in the armed forces, but with only one kidney he was deemed medically unfit. Instead he served in the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

(SOE). He worked in London under Colonel

Maurice Buckmaster Colonel Maurice James Buckmaster (11 January 1902 – 17 April 1992) was the leader of the French section of Special Operations Executive and was awarded the '' Croix de Guerre''. Apart from his war service, Buckmaster was a corporate manager ...

. Kilmartin defied orders from Buckmaster in 1944 to take part in a parachute jump into France as part of

Operation Jedburgh Operation Jedburgh was a clandestine operation during World War II in which three-man teams of operatives of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the Free French Bureau Central de Renseigne ...

. He subsequently earned medals for his military service. During his time at SOE Kilmartin became acquainted with

David Astor Francis David Langhorne Astor (5 March 1912 – 7 December 2001) was an English newspaper publisher, editor of ''The Observer'' at the height of its circulation and influence, and member of the Astor family, "the landlords of New York". Early ...

. His first post after the war was as a radio journalist, before he joined the staff of ''

'' in 1949. Initially, he worked in the foreign affairs office of the newspaper, becoming assistant literary editor in 1950 and literary editor in 1952. As literary editor of ''

'', Kilmartin commissioned reviews from

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993) who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his Utopian and dystopian fiction, dy ...

beginning in 1960Confessions of the hack trade Burgess, Anthony. ''

'' (1901- 2003); London (UK) ondon (UK)30 Aug 1992: 41. and from

Martin Amis Sir Martin Louis Amis (25 August 1949 – 19 May 2023) was an English novelist, essayist, memoirist, screenwriter and critic. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and '' London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Mem ...

in the early 1970s.

Translation and Proust

Kilmartin began to work as a translator from French with the major works of Henry de Montherlant: ''The Bachelors, The Girls, The Boys'', and ''Chaos and Night''. He also translated works by Malraux and

Françoise Sagan Françoise Sagan (; born Françoise Delphine Quoirez; 21 June 1935 – 24 September 2004) was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois ch ...

. The revision of the Scott Moncrieff translation of Proust's ''Remembrance of Things Past'' by Kilmartin was published in 1981. He compiled a comprehensive ''Reader's Guide to the Remembrance of Things Past'' (1983). The Guide comprises four separate indices: an index of characters in the ''Remembrance''; an index of actual persons; an index of places; and an index of themes. The reader is thus enabled to locate almost any reference, such as

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

, or ''

The Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition () ...

'', or Madame Verdurin in any particular scene or setting, or Versailles. The volume and page numbers are keyed to the 3-volume ''Remembrance of Things Past'' of 1981, translated by Scott Moncrieff and revised by Kilmartin. The Guide's volume and page references were revised for inclusion as "A Guide to Proust" in the 6-volume edition of the 1992 Moncrieff-Kilmartin-

D. J. Enright Dennis Joseph Enright OBE FRSL (11 March 1920 – 31 December 2002) was a British academic, poet, novelist and critic. He authored ''Academic Year'' (1955), ''Memoirs of a Mendicant Professor'' (1969) and a wide range of essays, reviews, antho ...

translation newly entitled "In Search of Lost Time".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilmartin, Terence 1922 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Irish translators Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Translators of Marcel Proust Literary editors The Observer people Irish literary editors 20th-century translators Commanders of the Order of the British Empire