Behind Inverted Commas: Translation and Anglo-German Cultural Relations in the Nineteenth Century (Topics in Translation, 15)

Sarah Austin (1793 - 1867), one of the most distinguished nineteenth-century translators of German texts, described translation as an activity which allowed her to secure herself "behind the welcome defence of inverted commas". This book argues that translation is not an innocent, transparent, shielded and unpolitical literary task. It aims to overcome the anonymity, silence and lack of creativity associated by placing centre stage a ntework of British nineteenth-century intellectuals who specialized in translations from German. The ideas about linguistic and cultural transmission which were discussed by the translatiors featuring in this study, as well as a selection of texts they chose to render into English, are examined. In addition, the book explores cross-currents between translation and gender studies, nineteenth-century developments in the visual arts, linguistic scholarship and historiography as well as travel writing. Translation this emerges as a force which has the potential to alter culture, while it can itself be modified by cultural developments. "Sarah Austin (1793-1867), one of the most distinguished English nineteenth-century translators of German texts, described translation as an activity which allowed her to secure herself "behind the welcome defence of inverted commas". This book argues that translation is not an innocent, transparent, shielded and unpolitical literary task. It aims to overcome the anonymity, silence and lack of creativity associated with the process of rendering texts from one language into another by placing centre stage a network of British nineteenth-century intellectuals who specialized in translations from the German."--Jacket 1. Some Nineteenth-century Anglo-german Crosscurrents -- 2. Women And Translation In The Nineteenth Century -- 3. From Portrait-painting To Daguerreotyping: Notions Of Fidelity In Nineteenth-century Translation -- 4. Translators And Philology -- 5. Translating The Past -- 6. Translating The Foreign Gaze. Susanne Stark. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Examining the activities of a network of 19th century intellectuals in Britain who were engaged in the rendering of German texts into English, this book establishes a series of cultural implications of the process of translation