Not only are they great classics, but recent translations of these works have been wildly popular. Sarah's (Loose Baggy Monster) recent mention of the newest translation of War and Peace, due out in October, got me thinking and googling about translations. I found this interesting 2006 article about the business of translations of classic literature. Here are some snippets:
In January, Viking released a version of Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace," the first new English translation in nearly 40 years of the sprawling Russian saga about the Napoleonic Wars. A blurb on the back jacket of the 1,412-page volume, translated by Anthony Briggs, calls it "the best translation so far of Tolstoy's masterpiece into English."
In fall 2007, Everyman's Library is coming out with its own "War and Peace," translated by husband-and-wife team Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. "It will be our most important new translation of the year," says LuAnn Walther, the imprint's editorial director.
Although the best-seller list is currently dominated by writers like James Patterson, Dean Koontz and Nora Roberts, one surprising corner of the publishing business is thriving: new translations of old classics. This month, Viking will publish a fresh version of Alexandre Dumas's "The Three Musketeers," followed by Virgil's "The Aeneid" three months later. In October, Yale University Press is releasing its take on Plato's "The Republic." Next year, readers will see updated works by Albert Camus and Franz Kafka, as well as Sun Tzu's "The Art of War."
Classics make up a small segment of the $25.1 billion U.S. publishing market, but they have the potential to turn into breakout hits. Demand soared for the 2001 translation of Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina," by Mr. Pevear and Ms. Volokhonsky, after Oprah Winfrey chose it for her book club in 2004; publisher Viking Penguin has sold more than 635,000 copies since its release in paperback. In comparison, many current novels sell fewer than 5,000 copies total.
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When blessed with golden reviews, the classics can become miniblockbusters. In 1990, Viking Penguin brought out Robert Fagles's translation of Homer's "The Iliad," followed by "The Odyssey" in 1996. Both were highly praised and have now sold an estimated 1.5 million copies. The publisher has high hopes for Mr. Fagles's next project, "The Aeneid."...
Well, we all know how The Aeneid went over. (Who didn't buy a copy last year?)
Of the 172,000 new titles published last year in the U.S., industry experts estimate that fewer than 1,000 were literary works in translation. A new translation is not likely to hit the sales level of Dan Brown's 2003 best-seller "The Da Vinci Code," which has nearly 20 million copies in print in the U.S. -- but a successful edition can generate sales for 30 years or more, especially to the lucrative high school and college markets. And with the exception of modern classics, publishers don't need to pay author royalties, which adds to potential profits and the attractiveness of the niche. Publishers have traditionally paid only a flat fee to translators, but today, some star translators receive royalties as well.
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One issue is whether literature becomes more accessible when it reflects the current rhythm and style of language. "The English language changes so rapidly that some words become archaic and get in the way of readers," says Michael Scammell, a professor of writing and translation at Columbia University in New York. He says he looks at translation as a musical performance: Just as there are many versions of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, translators may have their own interpretations of the words on the page.
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The growing selection can result in extra homework for readers. Jeff Rubin, a writer and lecturer in Oberlin, Ohio, recently passed up the latest "War and Peace" and instead chose Rosemary Edmonds's translation, a Penguin Classics edition last revised in 1978.
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Yet the most ambitious efforts can fall short. In May 2005, Everyman's Library published Mr. Woods's new translation of "Joseph and His Brothers" by Thomas Mann. The $42 volume, at 1,492 pages, was the biggest book ever published by the imprint. To date, sales are estimated at about 5,000 copies. Ms. Walther, the editorial director, says she is not discouraged. "When you publish classics, you are in it for the long haul," she says.
—Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, "Flood of re-translated classics hits shelves"
