by Maria Grazia, My Jane Austen Book Club
Jane Austen’s works
have crossed centuries, borders, and languages—continuing to speak to readers
around the world. Recently, Persuasion has taken on new life in Arabic,
thanks to the thoughtful work of freelance translator Maha Mahmoud Saleh, based
in Cairo.
When she reached out to share news of her translation, I was immediately intrigued—not only by the beautiful cover of the Arabic edition, but also by the opportunity to explore how Austen’s elegant irony and emotional depth could be reimagined for a different linguistic and cultural audience. Maha shared that she began her translation process by watching a 1990s film adaptation of Persuasion, and was struck by how familiar the story felt—almost like an old Arabic romantic drama. “If it weren’t for the distinctly English setting,” she told me, “I would have thought I was watching an old Arabic movie starring Faten Hamama and Omar Sharif—dubbed into English!”