Brian Nelson graduated from Cambridge and Oxford, teaching philosophy and cultural studies in Paris and Wales.
Since the 1980s, Nelson has taught at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, on French literature and cultural studies. From 2008 he has been Professor Emeritus of French Studies. Nelson also edits the Australian Journal of French Studies.
As well as his critical writings on French literature, Nelson has been one of the core translators of Oxford World's Classics' projects to translate all of Emile Zola's "Rougon-Macquart" cycle. Nelson translated 8 of the 20 books between 1995 and 2021 as part of their complete series.