An interdisciplinary conference in Maltese at the University of Malta on October 15 will shed light on the novel Il-Familja de Valereux jew Louis Mitluf Ġewwa l-Bosk by Concetta Brincat. This work, which will be published for the first time by Klabb Kotba Maltin and launched at the conference, was written in 1919 and is, therefore, the first original novel in Maltese written by a woman known to us – 40 years before Nokkla Sewda by Mary Meylak.
Nine speakers from different fields will offer a variety of perspectives on this narrative, which carries the hallmarks of an early 20th-century popular serial novel, or rumanz tal-faxxiklu, but also has quite particular characteristics of its own. At a time when Maltese authors were translating or adapting Italian or French novels into Maltese, it seems that Brincat chose to write an original work, albeit within a familiar framework.
The events and characters narrated by Brincat follow established patterns, and dialogue plays a major role in this story of the struggle between good and evil. Yet within this framework of the serialised novel − with its stock characters, adventures, extraordinary coincidences, constant disguises, and heightened emotions − there are beautiful moments when female characters assert their personalities, when food creates relationships, when clothing tells of the social and cultural authority of the characters, or of their humility.
Moreover, although the story is entirely set in France and Belgium − especially in Paris during the French Revolution − the novel also seems to tell the story of a poor Maltese family, like the one Brincat, née Sciberras, grew up in, in Laqxija, Birkirkara, and later in the city of Constantine in French-colonised Algeria.
The speakers at the conference are Adrian Grima, the editor of the novel, who will speak about the textual evidence to show that this is not a translation or an adaptation of someone else’s work; Maria Simiana, who will discuss the process of transcribing the novel from the notebooks written by the author; historian Simone Azzopardi, who will place the story in the context of the French Revolution and life in Malta in the first two decades of the 20th century; Marilyn Mallia, who will examine this first Maltese novel by a woman in light of the conventions of popular European novels of the time; and Francesca Xuereb, who will speak about the development of female characters in the novel.
In the second part, Fr Ray Gatt, OP, will discuss the religious elements; Noel Buttigieg will explore the food and drink culture that regularly enters the story; Caroline Tonna will analyse the significance of the many descriptions of the clothing of both nobles and common people; and Annamaria Gatt, from Heritage Malta, will showcase some garments mentioned in the novel that form part of the national collection, including the kabozza.
The conference will start at 5.30pm with an address by Carmen Sammut, pro-rector for student and staff affairs and outreach.
Admission to ‘Conference Concetta Brincat: The First Female Novelist’ is free and open to all. It will be held at Pietru Pawl Saydon Hall (ALT), located next to the entrance of the Faculty of Arts, behind Temi Zammit Hall.
The conference is being organised by the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta in collaboration with Klabb Kotba Maltin and Heritage Malta.
More information is available on the Department of Maltese Facebook page.
