Translation, Illustration, Transcreation. From the Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault to Classic Fairy Tales Retold

Abstract

The article proposes that the fairy-tale tradition unfolds as a collective, dynamic and transformative process of transcreation across languages, contexts and media for different purposes and publics. It notably draws attention to the role of translators, illustrators and publishers whose collaborations have produced new versions of the familiar stories in print form, which have in turn inspired highly innovative projects for children and adults reflecting personal takes on the stories. As a case study, I trace the editorial history of Angela Carter’s translation of The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault (1977) illustrated by Martin Ware, which paved the way for Carter’s own collection of ‘ stories about fairy stories ’, The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories (1979), in contrapuntal fashion. The translation was reissued with child-friendly illustrations by Michael Foreman in Sleeping Beauty and Other Favourite Fairy Tales (1982), also published by Victor Gollancz, which later fed into Classic Fairy Tales Retold and Illustrated by Michael Foreman (2005)1.