Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri (1265–1321), Italy’s greatest poet, was born in Florence and belonged to a noble but impoverished family. He first met Bice Portinari, whom he called Beatrice, in 1274; she inspired his most famous poetry, including the Vita Nuova, which he wrote to console himself when she died in 1290, and The Divine Comedy, which he began seventeen years after her death.

Steve Ellis, a Professor in English at the University of Birmingham, was born and brought up in York, and studied in Florence as part of his doctorate for London University. His frustration as a student with existing translations of Dante spurred a long-lasting desire to translate it himself.His critical works include Dante and English Poetry: Shelley to T.S. Eliot and a study of Eliot's Four Quartets. A major Gregory Award winner, he has also published two books of poetry, Home and Away and West Pathway