Translating Great Russian Literature: The Penguin Russian Classics by Cathy McAteer

Abstract

Reviewed by: Translating Great Russian Literature: The Penguin Russian Classics by Cathy McAteer Emily Lygo Translating Great Russian Literature: The Penguin Russian Classics. By Cathy McAteer. (BASEES/Routledge Series in Russian and East European Studies) London: Routledge. 2021. xxix+196 pp. £120. ISBN 978–0–36750–348–2. Cathy McAteer's fascinating study explores the important role of the Penguin Russian Classics series in bringing Russian literature to the UK readership. McAteer examines the historical background to this series, exploring the circumstances of its creation while introducing the key figures involved (Chapter 1); presents a microhistory of one of Penguin's most prolific translators from Russian, David Magarshack, whose tenure spanned the 1950s and early 1960s (Chapter 2); discusses Magarshack's translation theory and practice in the light of both Soviet and more recent, predominantly Western, translation theory (Chapter 3); and finally, she gives an analytical account of changes involving new translators and Penguin's move to translating contemporary, Soviet-era literature from the 1960s onwards (Chapter 4). McAteer's account uses extensive material from the Penguin archive to reveal behind-the-scenes arrangements for (and discussions around) the translation of major works of Russian literature. In itself this material is fascinating, especially for those readers whose acquaintance with Russian literature began with translations from this series. McAteer's discovery of an unpublished manuscript on translation theory by David Magarshack complements her analysis of his commissioned work for Penguin Books, which is based upon archival sources. By contextualizing his ideas with reference to Soviet translation theory, she examines the significance of individual translators' identities and aspirations: as a Russian émigré, Magarshack was influenced by developments in conceptualizing translation that were happening in the USSR as well as the guiding principles of E. V. Rieu's Penguin Classics. He was also anxious to be recognized as an authority on literature both in the UK and in Russia. By comparing Magarshack's versions of Dostoevskii with those of more recent Penguin translators of the same novels, McAteer provides an in-depth diachronic analysis of translation approaches and strategies. McAteer clearly positions her study and arguments in terms of translation theory, signalling her subject's significance beyond Russian Studies. At times her terminology and theoretical references imported from Translation Studies seem somewhat heavy-handed and unnecessary; that knowledge of the background, training, situation, and so on of translators is essential to understand their motivation and practice is a sufficiently common-sense assumption not to require theoretical underpinning. Her arguments for greater nuance in translation theory are engaging and convincing, however. McAteer's point that Bourdieu makes 'over-generalised' [End Page 524] statements about the opposition between intellectuals and owners of industry and business (p. 150) is a welcome challenge to the former's rather dogmatic binary categories, which risk discarding the varied experiences and models of publisher–translator relations. Her history of Penguin's creation of the Classics series is a persuasive example of how complex such relations can be, and, indeed, how they change over time and between individuals. This book moves convincingly from theory to practice, describing the precarious position of translators in a world where the increasing pressure of commercial viability, as well as the shift from translating nineteenth-century classics to contemporary, Soviet literature, significantly altered Penguin's practice. McAteer demonstrates how analysis of archived correspondence, together with awareness of the evolving role of paratexts, can facilitate understanding of the social and professional contexts of translators for this Penguin series. This monograph will be of great interest to scholars of Translation Studies, since McAteer's nuanced and rounded approach to translation history provides an excellent case study of a major publisher's series of translated texts. Her observations on translation publishing culture point to very interesting changes not only in the formal status of translators, but also in their training, backgrounds, and professionalism. Penguin's Russian Classics form a fascinating aspect of the history of Russian literature in Britain, and McAteer's book will also interest scholars in the field of Anglo-Russian cultural relations and interactions. Emily Lygo University of Exeter Copyright © 2022 Modern Humanities Research Association