Cecil Parrott

Sir
Cecil Parrott
KCMG OBE
United Kingdom Ambassador to Czechoslovakia
In office
1960–1966
Preceded bySir Paul Grey
Succeeded bySir William Barker
Born
Cecil Cuthbert Parrott

(1909-01-29) January 29, 1909 (age 115)
DiedJune 23, 1984(1984-06-23) (aged 75)
Known forTranslation of The Good Soldier Švejk
TitleProfessor
ChildrenJasper Parrott
Academic background
Alma materPeterhouse
Academic work
Era20th century
DisciplineRussian and Soviet Studies
InstitutionsLancaster University

Sir Cecil Cuthbert Parrott KCMG OBE (29 January 1909–23 June 1984) was a British diplomat, translator, writer and scholar.

After studies at Peterhouse, Cambridge, he became a teacher. He joined the Foreign Office in 1939. His diplomatic career culminated with his posting to Prague, where he was the British Ambassador from 1960 to 1966. On retiring from the Foreign Office, he became first Professor of Russian and Soviet Studies and later Professor of Central and South-Eastern European Studies and Director of the Comenius Centre at the University of Lancaster.

Parrott is best known for his translation of Jaroslav Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk. He also translated some of Hašek's short stories, The Red Commissar.[1] He also wrote a study of Hašek's short stories.[2]

He wrote two autobiographical volumes, The Tightrope[3] and The Serpent and the Nightingale,[4] as well as his biography of Hašek, The Bad Bohemian.[5][6]

His son, Jasper Parrott, is a businessman involved in artists' management.[7]

Notes

  1. ^ Hašek, Jaroslav (1981), The red commissar : including further adventures of the good soldier Švejk and other stories, W. Heinemann, ISBN 978-0-434-31376-1
  2. ^ Parrott, Cecil Sir (18 March 1982), Jaroslav Hašek : a study of Švejk and the short stories, Cambridge University Press (published 1982), ISBN 978-0-521-24352-0
  3. ^ Parrott, Cecil Sir (1975), The tightrope, Faber and Faber, ISBN 978-0-571-10256-3
  4. ^ Parrott, Cecil Sir (1977), The serpent and the nightingale, Faber, ISBN 978-0-571-10869-5
  5. ^ Parrott, Cecil Sir (1978), The bad Bohemian : the life of Jaroslav Hašek, creator of The good soldier Švejk, Bodley Head, ISBN 978-0-370-10344-0
  6. ^ Parrott, Cecil Sir (1983), The bad Bohemian : a life of Jaroslav Hašek creator of the good soldier Švejk, Abacus, ISBN 978-0-349-12698-2
  7. ^ Europa Publications (2003), The International Who's Who 2004, Psychology Press, ISBN 978-1-857-43217-6 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=neKm1X6YPY0C&pg