Translated by Flavia Martinez
The Stranger is without a doubt Albert Camus’ most famous work. The novel features Meursault, a French expatriate, born and raised in Algiers, Algeria. The novel is separated into two distinct parts. Part One is bookended by death: the death of the protagonist’s mother and the death of an Arab. Part Two deals with Meursault’s thoughts following the crime, in the moments leading up to his execution.
Though Camus refused to believe his work existentialist, The Stranger is considered one of the most famous existentialist works of all time.
Throughout its lifetime, The Stranger has been translated into English four times. The earliest translation dates from 1946, and the most recent translation is from 2012. The first line of the novel is different in every one of its English translations. A sentence in the last paragraph of the novel has likewise seen multiple versions across translations.
About the Author
Albert Camus was born on November 7, 1913 in French Algeria to expatriate parents. He grew up in Algeria and received his bachelors degree in philosophy from the University of Algiers in 1936. Shortly after receiving his masters, Camus moved to France, where he quickly became immersed in politics. In France, he became acquainted with longtime friend and fellow philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre. Camus published The Stranger in 1942. In 1957, he became the second youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Only two years after receiving the Nobel Prize, Camus died in a car accident.
Camus was alive to see the Stuart Gilbert translation of L’Étranger into English. It is unclear whether he collaborated with Gilbert on the translation. However, early in Camus’ career, he translated a number of plays, including Lope de Vega’s “El Caballero de Olmedo” into French. Other translations and adaptations, including works by Calderon, Dostoyevsky, and Faulkner.
About the Translator
Flavia Martinez is a second-year student at Amherst College. She plans to declare an in Interdisciplinary Major in Comparative Literature, with a focus in twentieth-century French, Spanish, and English-language literature. “Translating the Classics” is Flavia’s second course in translation, following “Translating Contemporary French: From Astérix to Houellebecq.”