author
Bella Duffy
1845–1926
An Irish writer and translator who spent much of her life in Italy, she is remembered for lively nonfiction, translations, and a long friendship with the writer Vernon Lee. Her work often opened windows onto European literary and cultural history for English-speaking readers.
1 Audiobook
Madame de Staël
by Bella Duffy
About the author
Bella Duffy, also known as Arabella Jane Duffy, was an Irish writer and translator who lived for many years in Florence and wrote mainly nonfiction. Sources found during this search agree that she died in 1926, but they differ on her birth year, with some giving 1845 and others 1849, so it is safest to say she was born in the mid-19th century.
She wrote biographies and critical studies, including a book on Madame de Staël, and translated works from Italian into English. Accounts of her life also note her close, lifelong friendship with the writer Vernon Lee and her strong interest in Italian art, history, and preservation.
Although not widely known today, her books reflect a cosmopolitan literary life shaped by Ireland, England, and Italy. She seems to have been especially drawn to writers, ideas, and places that connected European culture across borders.