Cecil Parrott
Sir Cecil Parrott | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom Ambassador to Czechoslovakia | |
| In office 1960–1966 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Paul Grey |
| Succeeded by | Sir William Barker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cecil Cuthbert Parrott January 29, 1909 |
| Died | June 23, 1984 (aged 75) |
| Occupation | Diplomat, translator |
| Known for | Translation of The Good Soldier Švejk |
| Children | Jasper Parrott |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Peterhouse |
| Academic work | |
| Era | 20th century |
| Discipline | Russian and Soviet Studies |
| Institutions | Lancaster University |
Sir Cecil Cuthbert Parrott KCMG OBE (29 January 1909–23 June 1984) was a British diplomat, translator, writer and scholar.
Career
After studies at Peterhouse, Cambridge, he became a teacher. He joined the Foreign Office in 1939. His diplomatic career culminated with his posting to Prague, where he was the British Ambassador from 1960 to 1966. On retiring from the Foreign Office, he became, at the University of Lancaster, first Professor of Russian and Soviet Studies from 1966 to 1971 then, from 1971 to 1976, Professor of Central and South-Eastern European Studies and finally Director of the Comenius Centre. [1].
Translator of the Czech language
Sir Cecil Parrott is best known for his translation of Jaroslav Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk. He also translated some of Hašek's short stories, The Red Commissar and Other Tales.[2] He also wrote a study of Hašek's short stories.[3]
He wrote two autobiographical volumes, The Tightrope[4] and The Serpent and the Nightingale,[5] as well as his biography of Hašek, The Bad Bohemian.[6][7]
Descent
His son, Jasper Parrott, is a businessman involved in artists' management.[8]
Notes
- ^ "About the Translator", non-paged note after the final page of the Everyman’s Library edition, 151, Jaroslav Hašek,The Good Soldier Švejk and his Fortunes in the World War, 1993, 800 pages. The "Comenius center" is a teaching center in honor of Czech thinker John Amos Comenius.
- ^ Hašek, Jaroslav (1981), The red commissar : including further adventures of the good soldier Švejk and other stories, W. Heinemann, ISBN 978-0-434-31376-1
- ^ Parrott, Cecil Sir (18 March 1982), Jaroslav Hašek : a study of Švejk and the short stories, Cambridge University Press (published 1982), ISBN 978-0-521-24352-0
- ^ Parrott, Cecil Sir (1975), The tightrope, Faber and Faber, ISBN 978-0-571-10256-3
- ^ Parrott, Cecil Sir (1977), The serpent and the nightingale, Faber, ISBN 978-0-571-10869-5
- ^ Parrott, Cecil Sir (1978), The bad Bohemian : the life of Jaroslav Hašek, creator of The good soldier Švejk, Bodley Head, ISBN 978-0-370-10344-0
- ^ Parrott, Cecil Sir (1983), The bad Bohemian : a life of Jaroslav Hašek creator of the good soldier Švejk, Abacus, ISBN 978-0-349-12698-2
- ^ Europa Publications (2003), The International Who's Who 2004, Psychology Press, ISBN 978-1-857-43217-6 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=neKm1X6YPY0C&pg
External links
- Profile, NationalArchives.gov.uk
- Profile Archived 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, gazettes-online.co.uk
- Propagandistic documentary Vysoká hra (1977), where is mentioned also Cecil Parrott (in Czech, first mentioned at time 4:54)
- Works by or about Cecil Parrott at the Internet Archive