The Italian success story of 'Ironhead'

On 25 May 2024 in Genoa, Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem was awarded the Premio Andersen for the Italian translation of Ironhead. The prestigious children’s book prize is the cherry on the cake of an Italian success story in which the translator and publisher had a major role to play. Here, along with Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem, translator Olga Amagliani and publisher Francesca Segato, we put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Stance is eighteen and far too mouthy for a girl. Her younger brother Pier is a sanctimonious swot who, acting as a chaperone, desperately tries to keep his sister under control. Their father is an inventor with money problems, and in Ghent in 1808 a daughter is the perfect collateral for a big loan from a rich money lender. Stance’s fate appears to be sealed and her freedom a thing of the past.

Until one night, dressed in her husband’s clothes, she escapes and takes the place of a conscript in Napoleon’s army. Her husband views her disappearance as a breach of contract, so Stance and Pier’s father ends up behind bars. Pier thinks he knows where his wayward sister is and goes off in search of her. But Stance has never felt more at home than she does at the Fourteenth Company.

In the figure of Stance, Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem has created an unforgettable character, and thus subtly brings topical issues such as gender and identity into an extremely convincing historical setting. Ghent, Paris, Vienna and the battlefields near the Danube come to life in his sensuous language, so much so that the reader can smell the blood, taste the beer and feel the cannons fire.

When Olga read Ironhead, she was instantly impressed by the story and the way it was written. “In that period I had only just started out as a literary translator and I was in search of good books to translate. I noticed immediately that Ironhead had all the ingredients that would make it appeal. It’s a modern classic of a higher quality than the average children’s book. The dialogues are well written, and the book has a lot of humour and adventure, as well as a positive message. Because it’s so long, I realized it would be risky for a publisher to take on.”

It proved effective, Italian publisher Francesca Segato confirms. “Olga is not only an excellent translator from Dutch but also a scout for us, as she knows exactly which titles are right for our catalogue, and based on our previous experiences we trust her judgement very much. So when the book came in with such a positive review it was already a very good start.”

There were other factors too that convinced them they should publish it. “Our participation in the publishers tour for children’s and YA literature at the end of 2021 gave us the necessary push to appreciate the value of this title. We had the opportunity to meet the author personally and listen to his wonderful pitch for the book, which he gave us while he led us through the streets of Ghent, where the story starts. That was followed by a wonderful reading in English that Jean-Claude himself performed in the city hall, where that very scene from the book takes place. The fact that we could experience how brilliantly communicative the author is, and therefore how he could also be a big help in the promotion of the book, was an added bonus.”

After all the rights had been acquired, Olga was able to start on the complete translation of Ironhead in 2022. “I worked intensively on the translation for about three months, and after that went through several rounds of revision. In October 2022, I came to the Translators House in Antwerp to work on the book and there I made an appointment to meet Jean-Claude. We talked a lot and took a walk through Ghent past places that feature in the book: the Botermarkt where the young men of Ghent were drafted into the army, the shoemaker’s house on the Kraanlei where Stance and Pier grew up, the quayside on the Lieve Canal where the washing barges were moored, the chapel to Saint Rita in the Saint Stefanus Church where Stance’s mother hopes her daughter will learn some common sense. That was definitely beneficial and helped me to ‘get into the story’. Afterwards I could continue to ask him questions and I always received kind replies. Jean-Claude still keeps me up to date with news about how his books are doing."

‘Testa di ferro’, the Italian version of Ironhead, has only been in shops since October 2023, but sales are excellent, Francesca tells us. “The book was performing really well in Italian bookshops even before it received the Premio Andersen, which of course also gave it a big push. It’s clear that both the critics and the young adult audience really appreciated the literary quality of the novel, the fact that it’s a solid historical adventure story and a real page turner, and the relevance of the themes it addresses, like the role of women and gender non-conforming identities. Even though YA novels generally struggle a bit in the Italian book market (the few exceptions being world-famous and heavily marketed bestsellers), we have a terrific base of very strong teenager readers, connected through the various reading groups in Italy and their festivals. The fact that these readers appreciate the novel is very important because their word of mouth is worth more than any traditional marketing campaign. It’s also a testimony to the high literary quality of the book, since they are generally very experienced and very demanding readers.”

It’s therefore no surprise that Jean-Claude was invited by Camelozampa to go on a book tour through Italy in the spring of 2024. Accompanied by the publisher, he travelled to Bologna, Cittadella, Imola, Rimini, Schio and Turin. Jean-Claude tells us it’s the Italian readers that have stayed with him most of all. “I thought it was great to be interviewed by readers of the book in so many cities. They were mostly fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds who had clearly put a lot of time and energy into formulating their questions. It was moving to see how a teacher and her pupils had spent more than two hours in a train to come and talk to me at the Turin Book Fair. The questions were about my research, about the position of women in society then and now, but they also – and I thought this was wonderful – wanted to learn more about Stance and Pier, whom they’d followed and got to know through my narrative and come to regard a little bit as their mates.”

Just after Jean-Claude got back to Belgium, the news arrived that he would be presented with the Premio Andersen in Genoa on 25 May – so he returned to Italy almost immediately. “The ceremony took place in a stately room in the ducal palace. It was exciting to see which books had won in the other age categories and there was a pleasant surprise: the prize for my colleague Edward van de Vendel and his wonderful ‘Misha’, nominated in the ages 6-9 category.

I was glad I was able to accept the prize in person and could say a bit about the theme of the book. Ironhead is a historical adventure story but also the story of a brother and sister who consistently fail to please their parents and go off to discover themselves. I believe it’s only when teenagers discover who they really are, when they accept their identity and are accepted by their loved ones and by society, that they can show us their true smile. If they are denied their true selves, their identities, they withdraw into a shadow of themselves and are unable to fulfil their potential. That is the message of the book, and in today’s world it’s a message that sometimes needs repeating.”

How exceptional is it for the Premio Andersen to be won by a Flemish young adult novel? And what does the prize mean for sales of the book? Francesca says, “The Premio Andersen is considered the most important award in children’s literature in Italy, so it is extremely important and an amazing achievement! It’s also particularly important for us as a publishing house: even though we have won it a few times in the last few years, it was always in categories for picture books; this is our first time with a novel. Besides being very prestigious, this award also means that the book will have a longer life on the shelves, because bookshops and libraries are now placing new orders. The titles that receive this prize are also added to the lists of books that are recommended for reading in schools and libraries for many years to come.”

The proof that Jean-Claude will get many Italian readers reading is already there; the author has been invited to Mare di Libri in Rimini in 2025, a book festival organized by and for young people. Furthermore, Camelozampa will soon by publishing the Italian edition of Daughter of Doom, once again translated by Olga, who will come to the Translators House in Antwerp again to work on it. “I too am very pleased about the Premio Andersen. It’s recognition for my work and confirmation that the advice to publish this book was sound. I’m very happy that I can now set to work on another novel by Jean-Claude.”

Camelozampa has published other Flemish books translated by Olga too, incidentally:

• Bigger than a Dream by Jef Aerts and Marit Törnqvist, finalist for the 2024 Premio Strega for picture books, another major Italian book prize.
• Viktor by Jacques & Lise, winner of the 2023 Premio Rodari.

In 2023 Olga translated the Flemish graphic novel Shady by Brecht Vandenbroucke, for which she was nominated for the 2024 Sophie Castille Translation Award, and she is now working on Stella by Gerda Dendooven. In short, Flemish books are doing well in Italy!