Josep Maria de Sagarra was a Catalan poet, novelist, and playwright celebrated for his masterful and vivid use of language. His plays, lauded for their originality and linguistic grace, achieved immense popularity with audiences. In poetry, he was noted for his ability to capture myth and explore its human dimensions, while his novels often served as biting social satires. Sagarra possessed a unique talent for connecting with a broad readership, ensuring his enduring literary significance.
Mr. Sinclair's three-volume translation of Dante's Divine Comedy offers English readers a deep understanding of this medieval classic. The original Italian text is paired with Sinclair's translation on facing pages, complemented by insightful commentaries after each canto, enhancing the reading experience.
Private Life holds up a mirror to the moral corruption in the interstices of the Barcelona high society Sagarra was born into. Boudoirs of demimonde tramps, card games dilapidating the fortunes of milquetoast aristocrats - and how they scheme to conceal them - fading manors of selfish scions, and back rooms provided by social-climbing seamstresses are portrayed in vivid, sordid, and literary detail. The novel, practically a roman-à-clef for its contemporaries, was a scandal in 1932. The 1960's edition was bowdlerized by Franco's censors. Part Lampedusa, part Genet, this translation will bring an essential piece of 20th-century European literature to the English-speaking public.