The Professor in Italy, translations and reprints, and other Brontë works

The first Italian translation of The Professor dates back to 1890, published by A. Miazzon, with the title Il Professore. It was followed many years later by Il Professore published by Sonzogno in March 1931. This makes the illustrated cover the oldest of all translations of The Professor and Villette. On its cover the novel’s author is still given as ‘Currer Bell’.

Cover of the 1931 Il Professore

A further translation by Valentina Bianconcini appeared in 1961, published by Capitol with the title Quel dolce sorriso.

Cover of the 1961 Quel dolce sorriso

Five years later another translation appeared, as Il Professore again, published by Paoline.

Cover of the 1966 Il Professore

In 1996 the novel finally had its complete, professional translation by Maria Stella, published by La Tartaruga, yet again as Il Professore. It was reprinted in 2003 by Baldini & Castoldi.

Cover of the 1996 Il Professore
(Painting: Jasper Francis Cropsey-Greenwood
Lake (1870))

Cover of the 2003 Il Professore

In 2013 it was again published by La Tartaruga.

Cover of the 2013 Il Professore

In 2016 Il Professore has been published by Fazi with a new translation, by Martina Rinaldi.

Cover of the 2016 Il Professore
(Painting: Odoardo Borrani-Portrait of 
a young man (1866))

The devoirs

As far as the Brontës Belgian devoirs are concerned, I myself translated and edited Componimenti in francese, just Emily’s, in 2002 published by Ripostes. In Autumn 2016 my new and enlarged edition, with all of Charlotte’s and Emily’s devoirs, based on Sue Lonoff’s authoritative book, will be published, again by Ripostes.

The other Brontë novels

The first, abridged, Italian translation of Jane Eyre was published in 1892. The first complete translation appeared in 1935. Charlotte’s Shirley had an abridged first publication too, in 1966. The first complete translation took until 1996.

The first Italian Wuthering Heights was published in 1925 and translated by Enrico Piceni.
Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall first appeared in 1956 and 1962 respectively, the second in an abridged version, by the same translator. The first full translation of Wildfell Hall was published in 1997.

Maddalena De Leo