Leila Vennewitz
Leila Vennewitz was a Canadian-English translator of German literature. She was born Leila Croot in Hampshire, England and grew up in Portsmouth. Her brother was the surgeon Sir John Croot.
She studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, continuing her studies in Germany and China, where she spent twelve years. She is best known today for her translations of the works of Heinrich Böll, the Nobel Prize-winning German novelist. She also translated the works of Martin Walser, Uwe Johnson, Hermann Hesse, Nicolas Born, Alexander Kluge, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Jurek Becker, Uwe Timm, Walter Kempowski and Alfred Andersch.
Her notable translations include:
Heinrich Böll:
- Billiards at Half-Past Nine
- The Clown
- End of a Mission - Schlegel-Tieck Prize from the Society of Authors, London
- Group Portrait with Lady
- The Train Was on Time
- The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
- The Bread of Those Early Years And Never Said a Word - Goethe House P.E.N. Prize from the American Center of P.E.N. A Soldier's Legacy
- Alexander Kluge: Attendance List for a Funeral, later reprinted as Case Histories
- Alexander Kluge: The Battle
- Alfred Andersch: The Father of a Murderer
- Friedrich Dürrenmatt - Oedipus
- Hermann Hesse: Narcissus and Goldmund - shortlisted for the Schlegel-Tieck Prize
- Jurek Becker: Jacob the Liar - Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize
- Martin Walser: Breakers - German Literary Prize from the American Translators Association
- Nicolas Born: The Deception
- Uwe Johnson: Anniversaries: From the Life of Gesine Cresspahl
- Uwe Johnson: Anniversaries II
- Uwe Timm: The Invention of Curried Sausage
- Walter Kempowski: Days of Greatness