New Light on Translating Arthur Koestler's The Gladiators: Unpublished Correspondence from the Edith Simon Archive

Abstract

Correspondence which has come to light in the Edith Simon Archive at the National Library of Scotland concerns the translation and publication of Arthur Koestler's novel Der Sklavenkrieg in English as The Gladiators. Most of the letters were written by Koestler to the translator, Edith Simon (1917–2003), while her work was in progress. Since neither Koestler nor Simon left any detailed account of their collaboration over the translation, the letters provide new insight into the process which concluded with Jonathan Cape's publication of the English version of Koestler's novel in 1939. Koestler points to works that influenced his own writing style, and light is shed on the author-translator relationship.