Award-winning novelist, playwright and educator Lina Brockdorff, a leading figure in Maltese literature and a lifelong advocate for the Maltese language, has died at the age of 95, her family has announced.
Born in Senglea on 21 May 1930, Brockdorff was one of the most prolific writers of her generation, producing poetry, prose, novels, radio plays and educational programmes over a career spanning several decades. Her work, written primarily in Maltese, reached audiences both in Malta and abroad and helped shape modern Maltese literary culture.
In recognition of her contribution to Maltese literature and language, Brockdorff was awarded the gold medal at the Ġieħ l-Akkademja tal-Malti awards at the age of 90, becoming the first woman to receive the honour.
Brockdorff began her professional life as a primary school teacher before pausing her career to raise a family. She later returned to education, teaching media and English at St Aloysius College. Her commitment to learning continued well into later life; in her seventies, she enrolled for a Master’s degree in Theology at the University of Malta.
She played a significant role in Malta’s literary institutions, serving as president of the Għaqda Letterarja Maltija and as a member of the Akkademja tal-Malti council between 2004 and 2005. She remained an active member of the academy thereafter and was also involved with L-Għaqda Poeti Maltin.
Brockdorff was particularly prolific during the 1950s and 1960s, when she wrote and produced numerous programmes for rediffusion, a broadcasting system that predated FM radio and television in Malta. Over her lifetime, she published 340 novellas, 12 novels and several short-story anthologies, many of which were adapted for radio broadcast.
Among her best-known works are the romantic novel Kien Kwinta l-Qamar (1974), the historical novel Luciano, set in 1900, and Sireni u Serenati (2004), an autobiographical account of her childhood during the Second World War. The autobiography was later serialised on radio, won the National Book Council’s Best Novel – Non-Fiction award, and was translated into English as Serenades amidst the Sirens in 2016.
In 2020, former president George Vella described Brockdorff as “a wonderful example of active ageing”, noting that she continued writing and publishing well into her nineties. She was also widely respected for her extensive voluntary work at both local and national level.
Despite her wide-ranging professional and cultural commitments, Brockdorff remained closely devoted to her family. She is survived by her four children — Noellie, David, Adrianne and Daniel — as well as several grandchildren.