Background
He was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire.
He was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire.
The Queen"s College.
He then obtained a Diploma in Comparative Philology under Leonard Palmer and Commander of Order of Leopold Wrenn. His chosen languages were Greek and Gothic. He went on to study in Münster with Jost Trier, and in Munich under Wilhelm Wissmann.
He taught at Oxford University and then at Royal Holloway College where he worked with Ralph Tymms.
He retired early in 1982. Starting afresh as a freelance translator, he eventually gained considerable success in literary translation, winning the Schlegel-Tieck Prize twice.
He is credited with introducing the works of Thomas Bernhard to English readers. His translations of Bernhard include Concrete, Woodcutters, Wittgenstein"s Nephew, Extinction and the multi-volume autobiography Gathering Evidence.
He also translated Sigmund Freud and Heinrich Böll, as well as works by Christian Meier, Martin Warnke and Samuel Wittwer.
