Linda Asher, a former fiction editor for "The New Yorker" has translated into English many French-language writers, including Restif de la Bretonne, Victor Hugo, George Simenon & Milan Kundera.
He has been a Regents Lecturer at the University of California & a professor of humanities at Claremont Graduate University. He is currently senior adviser to the president of the J. Paul Getty Trust. He lives in Pasadena, California.