Joseph Scicluna is a novelist and translator with an undeniable passion for Malta’s heritage.
It’s this fascination with Maltese history that led Scicluna to contribute several translations (into English) of original documents and memoirs by French knights, never before read by the general public. He provides a rare glimpse into the chaotic and little-understood period at the end of the Order’s centuries-long rule.
“Before settling down to live in France, I spent several years in Northern Italy, and before that I also lived in London. Like most Maltese expats I try, as best I can, to keep up to date with news on the island.
“That’s easy enough today but was not the case 35 years ago before the internet, when long-distance calls were charged in liri per minute. Back then, you were lucky to get hold of a copy of a Maltese newspaper from the previous week!”
Scicluna’s demanding job in the IT industry indirectly led to his writing career. “I firmly believe that we can all play a role in spreading our history as broadly as possible. History is not only for historians and academics. It needs to be transmitted to the younger generation in a compelling and objective manner, without any undue embellishments. And the Maltese have every reason to be proud of their history, be it during the last war, the French occupation or the Great Siege.”
Addressing a change in the way the knights are perceived locally, both popularly and by scholars, Scicluna says: “I sense a shifting trend from glorifying the knights to despising them for having treated us like inferior beings. But we must also bear in mind that in those days all nobility treated non-nobles as inferior beings and Malta was no exception. The same goes for the French rule. The Maltese were told that the French were demons before Napoleon even set foot in Malta in 1798 and yet, they brought about a number of badly needed reforms, which benefitted the entire Maltese population.”
Sciculna’s books encourage readers to re-evaluate their ideas of Malta’s time under French rule, looking into both the positive contributions and negative repercussions of that short but tumultuous time.
“One thing I realised from my research is that historians often tend to write what other historians wrote before them, including the errors. Reading the history of the French occupation first hand from an eyewitness is almost a privilege, especially coming from the French perspective. One must hear all sides to form a balanced view and to be able to express an intelligent and informed opinion.”
Scicluna’s books encourage readers to re-evaluate their ideas of Malta’s time under French rule
Discovered at the National Library, the memories of Pierre Jean Louis Ovide Doublet and Bosredon de Ransijat were published by Allied Publications. These translations were followed by an original work of fiction by Scicluna, entitled Ricasoli Soldier.
Scicluna has now moved on to translate a work of fiction, Sword-Lily: The Last Days of the Knights of Malta (available online as an e-book) by author August de Kermainguy. “I was intrigued at the way he tells the story of a noble, young Frenchman who travels to Malta from Brittany, to take the oath of knighthood during the reign of Grand Master De Rohan.”
The book, says Scicluna, is pure theatre and jam-packed with drama, romance and poetry. Locations include Valletta, Cospicua and quaint villages.
His characters are the knights and the Maltese, and he even includes Doublet and Ransijat. So you begin to see how his books fit together.
Scicluna’s latest publication, Blockade: Malta 1798, has been published by the Malta University Press and is a translation of the memoirs of a French knight trapped inside Valletta during the blockade – accused of treachery.
The highly controversial former knight became a key figure in the French administration during its two-year rule in Malta, embracing the ideology of the French revolution. It’s that kind of contradiction that intrigues Scicluna and motivates his call for a re-evaluation of the knights’ place in Maltese history at the end of the 1700s.
By encouraging fresh encounters with Maltese history, Scicluna’s work asks for a second look at long-held myths and half-remembered stories.
What about the knights’ political agenda? Was it most influential at the end of their reign? And how has Maltese identity been shaped by these particular concerns?
Given the opportunity to explore these questions using source texts, new generations of historians will be able to contribute to a lively discussion, made possible in no small part by Scicluna’s important translations.