Isabel Madeleine Quigly FRSL (17 September 1926 – 14 September 2018) was a British writer, translator and film critic.
Biography
She was born in Ontaneda, Spain, and educated at Godolphin School, Salisbury and Newnham College, Cambridge. In her early career, she worked for Penguin Books and Red Cross Geneva. Between 1956 and 1966, she was film critic of The Spectator. She served as literary editor of The Tablet from 1985 to 1997. She also contributed to numerous journals and newspapers, and served on the jury of various literary prizes including the Booker Prize jury in 1986.
In 1953, her first book, and only novel, The Eye of Heaven, was published. Other books include The Heirs of Tom Brown: The English School Story and Charlie Chaplin: Early Comedies. She has also translated more than 100 books from Italian, Spanish and French. Her most notable translations are Silvano Ceccherini's The Transfer, for which, in 1967, she won the John Florio Prize, and Giorgio Bassani's The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. According to Robin Healey's Twentieth-Century Italian Literature in English Translation, Quigly was one of the top 10 translators of Italian literature of the last 70 years, alongside Archibald Colquhoun, Patrick Creagh, Angus Davidson, Frances Frenaye, Stuart Hood, Eric Mosbacher, Raymond Rosenthal, Bernard Wall and William Weaver.
Quigly died in Haywards Heath in 2018.
Selected translations
Silvano Ceccherini: The Transfer (John Florio Prize) Giorgio Bassani: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis Giorgio Bassani: A Prospect of Ferrara Giorgio Bassani: The Gold-Rimmed Spectacles Alba de Céspedes: Between Then and Now Alba de Céspedes: La Bambolona Alba de Céspedes: The Secret Antonio Cossu: The Sardinian Hostage Attilio Veraldi: The Payoff Carlo Cassola: Fausto and Anna Carlo Monterosso: The Salt of the Earth Carlo Picchio: Freedom Fighter Elena Bono: The Widow of Pilate Elsa Morante: Arturo's Island Ercole Patti: That Wonderful November Fabio Carpi: The Abandoned Places Fausta Cialente: The Levantines Fortunato Seminara: The Wind in the Olive Grove Giuliana Pandolfi Boldrini: The Etruscan Leopards Giuseppe Dessì: The House at San Silvano Goffredo Parise: Solitudes Livia Svevo: Memoir of Italo Svevo Lorenza Mazzetti: Rage Luigi Magnani: Beethoven's Nephew Luigi Preti: Through the Fascist Fire Michele Prisco: A Spiral of Mist Nino Palumbo: The Bribe Nino Palumbo: Tomorrow Will be Better Oliviero Honore Bianchi: Devil's Night Oriana Fallaci: Nothing, and So Be It Renato Ghiotto: The Slave Sergio Donati: The Paper Tomb Uberto Paolo Quintavalle: On the Make Georges Simenon: The Family Lie