Natalie Duddington

Natalie Duddington (1886-1972) was a philosopher and a translator of Russian literature into English. After winning a scholarship to London University, Natalie obtained a first-class degree in Philosophy in 1909. Intelligent and strong-minded, she became an assistant to Constance Garnett - the woman who brought Dostoevsky and Chekhov to English readers - and evidence of Garnett's influence is to be felt in Duddington's vivacious translation of Goncharov's masterpiece. It shows a special...See more

Natalie Duddington (1886-1972) was a philosopher and a translator of Russian literature into English. After winning a scholarship to London University, Natalie obtained a first-class degree in Philosophy in 1909. Intelligent and strong-minded, she became an assistant to Constance Garnett - the woman who brought Dostoevsky and Chekhov to English readers - and evidence of Garnett's influence is to be felt in Duddington's vivacious translation of Goncharov's masterpiece. It shows a special awareness of the nuances of the Russian and a native sense of the natural rhythms of the language. Based on Goncharov's revised version of his novel, now recognized as definitive. Natalie Duddington's is a translation of what must be assumed to be the authorized text. In its particular sensitivity to the subtlety of Goncharov's Russian, in its liveliness and its elegance, it has about it a freshness of manner that admirably matches the same enduring quality in the original. See less