Thanks for Typing: Women’s Roles in Editions and Translations of Arthurian Literature in Penguin Classics, 1959–1985

Abstract

Abstract Based on documentary research undertaken in the Penguin Archive in the University of Bristol’s Special Collections, this article highlights various ways in which women’s often invisible labour contributed to the publication of editions and translations of medieval and early modern Arthurian literature in the mid- to late-twentieth century. The discussion includes a range of roles and individuals involved in bringing Arthurian literature to publication, including the academics commissioned to undertake translations, the editors and administrators in Penguin’s employ, as well as secretaries, wives, readers and other figures operating outside of Penguin. The article attempts a recuperation of the women’s labour involved in bringing Arthurian literature to the masses, and celebrates their part in the establishment and perpetuation of Arthurian Studies as a discipline.