Two more publications in the 'Nobel Centennial' bookshelf

Launched in 2021 with the desire to honor the authors who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, and at the same time introduce valuable works to readers, the "Nobel Hundred Years" bookshelf has just been supplemented with 2 more works "Roman History”by Theodor Mommsen and “Drama collection"by Jacinto Benavente.

Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen is a German professor who teaches and researches in Classics, History, Law and Archaeology. The work that brought Mommsen the most glory is the work“Roman History”. In 1902, at the age of 85, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Normally, the prize is awarded for an author's lifetime achievement, but Mommsen is one of only nine Nobel laureates (as of 2022) whose work has been singled out for special honor, and that work is “History of Rome.”

Two latest works in the "Nobel Hundred Years" bookshelf.

According to Theodor Mommsen's original plan,“Roman History”The work will consist of five volumes, from the beginnings of Rome to the time of Emperor Diocletian (AD 305), when the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western halves. The first three volumes (divided into five volumes) were published in 1854, 1855, and 1856, with a time axis extending to the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC and the reforms of Julius Caesar. In 1885, Mommsen published what is considered Volume V of the work.“Roman History”,named“The Provinces of the Roman Empire from Caesar to Diocletian”.

Volume IV is missing, but Mommsen did not write it, but he still composed many lectures related to the Roman Empire period for his university lectures and was transcribed by his students. In 1992, 90 years after Mommsen was awarded the Nobel Prize, German historian Alexander Demandt published Volume IV."reconstruction"of the set“Roman History”under the name“Römische Kaisergeschichte”(“History of the Roman Empire”). The Vietnamese version of “Roman History” consists of 5 volumes, published in succession. Volume 1 (translated and introduced by Nguyen Qui Hien) was published this year, including: Volume I: The period from the beginning until the dissolution of the monarchy, Volume II: The period from the dissolution of the monarchy in Rome until the unification of Italy.

Jacinto Benavente (1866-1954) was a Spanish playwright, director and actor. He is considered the greatest Spanish playwright of the 19th and 20th centuries. During his lifetime, Benavente profoundly influenced and changed Spanish drama both in terms of writing and performance. His plays dominated the Spanish stage for half a century, and his talent was recognized by both experts and the general public. In 1922, the Swedish Academy awarded him the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature “for the ingenious style with which he has continued the glorious tradition of Spanish drama”. During his literary career, Benavente wrote more than 170 plays, as well as several volumes of poetry and other literary genres.

Jacinto Benavente's "Play Collection" includes 5 plays:The Governor's Wife, The Autumn Rose, The Bonds of Interest, The Little Princess, The Unfaithful Child.The five plays in this collection are all from his golden age, including two of his best plays, The Bonds of Interest and The Unlucky Child. All five plays are translated from English, based on the collection.“Plays by Jacinto Benavente”,Translated by John Garrett Underhill, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1917; reference was made to the Spanish original.

Here, readers will see a Benavente imbued with liberal ideas, understanding human psychology, and especially honoring women. His female characters often play very important roles whether set in the upper class or the poor working class in the countryside. Most of Benavente's plays are set in the upper class, a class of people who are glamorous on the outside but rotten on the inside that he is very familiar with because he lived with them since childhood, along with the familiar place name of Madrid. The uniqueness of Benavente's plays lies not only in the content but also in the dialogue and the way the characters' psychology is expressed. The work is translated and introduced by Nguyen Tuan Linh, with 15 new illustrations divided equally among 5 plays drawn by artist Le Tri with inspiration from the scratchboard style.

Previously, last year, Dong A Book Company translated the entire first collection of poems “Thi Khuc & Thi Pham”, the work that made the name and literary status of French poet Sully Prudhomme (1839-1907) in the international literary world, with the desire to convey more of Sully’s abundant poetic inspiration to Vietnamese readers. In 1901, he became the first person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his outstanding literary values, noble idealism, perfect artistry and the wonderful combination of emotion and talent”. The collection of poems is divided into two parts, including 103 poems in the first part of Thi Khuc and 14 poems in the second part of Thi Pham. The book is translated from the original French with a new translation by Tran Chau, Dat Nhan and Khac Do.

With“Poetry & Poetry”,Last year, Dong A Book Company also released new translations of two representative works from two creative periods of writer Anatole France (1844-1924):“The Crimes of Sylvestre Bonnard and Penguin Island”.Publication translated by Tran Chau. Debut novel“The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard”published in 1881 brought great success to France, helping him become known as a novelist and receiving a prize from the French Academy. Penguin Island was published in 1908, marking a major change in Anatole France's writing career. If before, he was immersed in his own thoughts, only looking at the beauty of the distant past, now he paid much attention to contemporary political issues and often directed his satirical spear towards the Church. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1921 for“brilliant literary works, characterized by noble style, deep sympathy, grace, and a truly Gaulish temperament.”

According to Ms. Hoai An, representative of Dong A Book Company, every year, the bookcase“Nobel Centennial”will print one or more works by the author who received the Nobel Prize in Literature exactly 100 years ago, except for years when the prize was not awarded.“For works with large volumes, we will print one or two volumes first, and the next volumes will come out later. All works printed in this bookcase are made in limited editions with numbers, as a worthy way to honor the precious literary gems of humanity,”Ms. Hoai An said.

Thus, Vietnamese readers will meet again all the authors and works they love, from Henryk Sienkiewicz to Hermann Hesse, from Rabindranath Tagore to Albert Camus in a new look.