Translating England into Russian
The Politics of Children's Literature in the Soviet Union and Modern Russia
Published on 26. December 2019
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-1-350-13399-0 (ISBN)
Description
From governesses with supernatural powers to motor-car obsessed amphibians, the iconic images of English children's literature helped shape the view of the nation around the world. But, as Translating England into Russian reveals, Russian translators did not always present the same picture of Englishness that had been painted by authors.
In this book, Elena Goodwin explores Russian translations of classic English children's literature, considering how representations of Englishness depended on state ideology and reflected the shifting nature of Russia's political and cultural climate. As Soviet censorship policy imposed restrictions on what and how to translate, this book examines how translation dealt with and built bridges between cultures in a restricted environment in order to represent images of England. Through analysing the Soviet and post-Soviet translations of Rudyard Kipling, Kenneth Grahame, J. M. Barrie, A. A. Milne and P. L. Travers, this book connects the concepts of society, ideology and translation to trace the role of translation through a time of transformation in Russian society.
Making use of previously unpublished archival material, Goodwin provides the first analysis of the role of translated English children's literature in modern Russian history and offers fresh insight into Anglo-Russian relations from the Russian Revolution to the present day. This ground-breaking book is therefore a vital resource for scholars of Russian history and literary translation.
In this book, Elena Goodwin explores Russian translations of classic English children's literature, considering how representations of Englishness depended on state ideology and reflected the shifting nature of Russia's political and cultural climate. As Soviet censorship policy imposed restrictions on what and how to translate, this book examines how translation dealt with and built bridges between cultures in a restricted environment in order to represent images of England. Through analysing the Soviet and post-Soviet translations of Rudyard Kipling, Kenneth Grahame, J. M. Barrie, A. A. Milne and P. L. Travers, this book connects the concepts of society, ideology and translation to trace the role of translation through a time of transformation in Russian society.
Making use of previously unpublished archival material, Goodwin provides the first analysis of the role of translated English children's literature in modern Russian history and offers fresh insight into Anglo-Russian relations from the Russian Revolution to the present day. This ground-breaking book is therefore a vital resource for scholars of Russian history and literary translation.
Reviews / Votes
[An] informative account of the intricacies of translation strategies and the transformations of some well-known British texts in Russian culture. * Translation Studies * Offers a nuanced and thought-provoking account of an intriguing subject and will be of interest to scholars working in many areas. * European History Quarterly * Translating England into Russian offers readers a triple reward: an occasion to revisit beloved stories, new clarity about their ideological significance across cultures, and an introduction to the doppelgangers who enchanted readers in the Soviet era and linger in Russian imaginations even today. * Elizabeth McGuire, Assistant Professor of History, California State University, USA * This book is a fascinating journey into the world of the Soviet and post-Soviet translation of English children's books. Goodwin provides a perceptive and informative analysis of the shifts that occur in translation, explaining the politics and ideology behind it, and sheds new light on how the Soviet readers' perception of England was shaped. * Natalia Rulyova, Lecturer in Russian, University of Birmingham, UK *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
14 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
573 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-13399-0 (9781350133990)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Elena Goodwin
Translating England into Russian
The Politics of Children's Literature in the Soviet Union and Modern Russia
E-Book
12/2019
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€36.49
Available for download
Person
Elena Goodwin is an independent academic and translator of Russian to English who obtained her PhD in Russian Studies in 2017 from the University of Exeter, UK.
Content
List of Illustrations
1. Introduction
2. Translated Literature in Russia: The 'High Art' of Realist Translation, Censorship and Key Actors within the Field
3. Translation of British Children's Literature in Russian Context: Responses to Political and Cultural Changes
4. J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan: Censoring Images of the British Empire and Edwardian Class Society
5. Translating Rudyard Kipling's Duology about Puck: Empire, Historical Past and Landscape
6. A. A. Milne Through Soviet Eyes: Translating Silliness and Tradition
7. Framing P. L. Travers's Mary Poppins in Ideological and Cultural Contexts: Translating Expressions and Images of English National Character
8. Re-Imagining Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows: Images of Mythical Rural England and the English Way of Life in Soviet and Post-Soviet Translations
Conclusion
Notes
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Bibliography
1. Introduction
2. Translated Literature in Russia: The 'High Art' of Realist Translation, Censorship and Key Actors within the Field
3. Translation of British Children's Literature in Russian Context: Responses to Political and Cultural Changes
4. J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan: Censoring Images of the British Empire and Edwardian Class Society
5. Translating Rudyard Kipling's Duology about Puck: Empire, Historical Past and Landscape
6. A. A. Milne Through Soviet Eyes: Translating Silliness and Tradition
7. Framing P. L. Travers's Mary Poppins in Ideological and Cultural Contexts: Translating Expressions and Images of English National Character
8. Re-Imagining Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows: Images of Mythical Rural England and the English Way of Life in Soviet and Post-Soviet Translations
Conclusion
Notes
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Bibliography