Poetry Magazines - The best collection of poetry magazines online - Simon Armitage

When Nico and Rachel Lethbridge bought the Château de Queille in 1995, they resolved to make it a meeting place for all sorts of people who love the good things of life; music, drama, beautiful surroundings, good food and wine and harmonious family life. They also wanted to become totally rooted in the history and present day context of the Château.

   When Nico tragically died after an accident at Queille, and was buried in the cemetery there, I took on an unfinished project from my beloved son in law – that of translating an historical novel of Cathar times, ‘L’épopée de la Dame de Queille’ by Gabriel Lajugie, which beautifully brings to life the world of the thirteenth century. The title in English is ‘Camille; the Lady of Queille – a Cathar Saga’. It is a family saga extending from 650 AD to 1300 but centred around Camille (La Dame de Queille) who is a most attractive character very much in the mould of the Lethbridge and Todhunter families. She survives the turmoil of the crusade against the Cathars until her family eventually find refuge in Piedmont. It is a story full of incident and warmth, moving on in a most lively way and rich in detail of the Ariège/Aude region.

   I decided to translate the book into modern English for the immediacy which brings it to life. Not everyone is keen on reading history books so I have set the passages of pure history as ‘historical notes’ in italics. That way it is possible to skip through these passages. For a more technically proficient author no doubt it would be possible to transliterate peasant speech but I have found it hard to speak with different voices. Perhaps this requires a greater degree of imagination in the reader. This has been my main difficulty.

   The whole process has given me the greatest respect for the novelist; the rhythm of long and short sentences, the choice of punchy words to punctuate and arouse the mind and to form pivotal points of the story, the flow of time. There is no better way to appreciate this skill than to translate a book.