Barbara Wright (1915-2009) is considered one of the premier English translators of modern French literature. An Englishwoman, born in 1915, Wright studied music in Paris in the years before World War II. She began her career as an art and literary critic before devoting her time to translation. She specialized in "poetic prose" and drama, especially French surrealist and existential writing, but she translated works in several genres including women's literature, historical fiction, and fantasy. In 1986 she was made an officer in l'Ordre des Artes et des Lettres in l'Academie Française.