Bluestocking Feminism and British-German Cultural Transfer, 1750–1837 by Alessa Johns

Abstract

Reviewed by: Bluestocking Feminism and British-German Cultural Transfer, 1750–1837 by Alessa Johns Karin Baumgartner Alessa Johns. Bluestocking Feminism and British-German Cultural Transfer, 1750–1837. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2014. 227 pp. Alessa Johns's study illuminates the cultural transfer between German-speaking lands (mostly Hannover and Anhalt-Dessau) and Great Britain. In the period from 1750 to 1837, a lively exchange of ideas developed based on British and German personal experience in the other country (study and travel) and active and ongoing translation activities on both sides of the Channel. Johns concentrates on four pivotal moments in the British-German cultural transfer: the expansion of the book trade from 1750 to 1789, the rage for translation in the 1790s, the effect of revolution on intra-European travel and travel writing in the 1820s, and the impact of transatlantic journeying in the 1830s. Theoretically informed by new developments in historiography, Johns is very clear that she considers her book a contribution toward the historiography of women actors, who have not previously received critical attention. At the core of the theoretical argument are two concepts from historiography: terrains vastes and actor networks (based on theories by Bruno Latour, Michael Callon, and John Law). The concept of "terrains vastes," based on Clifford Geertz's call for "thick descriptions of cultural transfer," allows the author to extend a binary network of cultural transfer to one that covers vast geographic areas and social networks. Johns writes that "viewing the creation of history by way of dynamic actor-networks therefore allows for a decentered reading that navigates terrains vastes to come to broad, if provisional conclusions" (167). This approach helps Johns trace the dissemination of discourses across vast actor networks; in other words, she follows how concepts, such as the Philanthropinists' educational ideas, were transmitted across various countries. [End Page 307] The study is organized into four chapters of unequal length and quality. For the German studies scholar, chapters 1 and 2 are most satisfying. Chapter 1 in particular explores new territory by beginning its investigation with the Personal Union of Britain and Hannover. Johns's description of the terrains vastes shows that this union had tangible effects on the cultural life of Britain and northern Germany, with the British aristocracy attending German universities and German scholars being invited to Britain. Johns focuses on books as the material objects of cultural transfer; for example, she investigates Duchess Philippine Charlotte of Braunschweig (mother to Anna Amalia of Saxonia-Weimar) as a great collector of books from both sides of the Channel. Contrary to the general assumption that all aristocrats partook of French culture, Johns makes a convincing argument that the Hannoverians turned toward Britain for their cultural sensibilities. Fascinating to read is Johns's study of Anna Vandenhoeck, who was born in England and was the wife and widow of Abraham Vandenhoeck. She took over the Göttingen publishing house after her husband's death and commissioned the first translation of Richardson's Clarissa (by Johann David Michaelis, father to Caroline Schlegel-Schelling), thus introducing English sensibility to the Continent. The conclusion of this first chapter is that "despite being written in foreign languages and therefore seemingly nation-bound, works of literature were actually becoming more available, crossing borders, more likely to be translated, and reaching more diverse readers rather than being limited to a small scholarly circle" (36). In this process, women, according to Johns, had an important role to play as cultural mediators and translators. The second chapter traces translations across the Channel. Johns pays particular attention to the many female translators who disseminated English literature in Germany, among them the daughters of the Göttingen professoriat. Of particular interest is that Johns trains her eye on translations going both ways: English texts translated into German and German texts translated into English. The concept of translation used in this chapter is therefore broad and "implies the transfer of cultural registers and epistemologies with very real implications for transnational social understanding and gender politics" (40). Just as German audiences absorbed new cultural and social codes through Clarissa, English audiences absorbed the ideas of German reform pedagogues through translations by Mary Wollstonecraft...