Translating England into Russian: The Politics of Children's Literature in the Soviet Union and Modern Russia

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Description

From governesses with supernatural powers to motor-car obsessed amphibians, the iconic images of English childrens literature helped shape the view of the nation around the world. But, as Translating England into Russian reveals, Russian translators did not always present the same picture of Englishness that had been painted by authors. In this book, Elena Goodwin explores Russian translations of classic English childrens literature, considering how representations of Englishness depended on state ideology and reflected the shifting nature of Russias political and cultural climate. As Soviet censorship policy imposed restrictions on what and how to translate, this book examines how translation dealt with and built bridges between cultures in a restricted environment in order to represent images of England. Through analysing the Soviet and post-Soviet translations of Rudyard Kipling, Kenneth Grahame, J. M. Barrie, A. A. Milne and P. L. Travers, this book connects the concepts of society, ideology and translation to trace the role of translation through a time of transformation in Russian society. Making use of previously unpublished archival material, Goodwin provides the first analysis of the role of translated English childrens literature in modern Russian history and offers fresh insight into Anglo-Russian relations from the Russian Revolution to the present day. This ground-breaking book is therefore a vital resource for scholars of Russian history and literary translation.

Reviews

[An] informative account of the intricacies of translation strategies and the transformations of some well-known British texts in Russian culture. * Translation Studies *
Translating England into Russian offers readers a triple reward: an occasion to revisit beloved stories, new clarity about their ideological significance across cultures, and an introduction to the doppelgangers who enchanted readers in the Soviet era and linger in Russian imaginations even today. * Elizabeth McGuire, Assistant Professor of History, California State University, USA *
This book is a fascinating journey into the world of the Soviet and post-Soviet translation of English childrens books. Goodwin provides a perceptive and informative analysis of the shifts that occur in translation, explaining the politics and ideology behind it, and sheds new light on how the Soviet readers perception of England was shaped. * Natalia Rulyova, Lecturer in Russian, University of Birmingham, UK *
Offers a nuanced and thought-provoking account of an intriguing subject and will be of interest to scholars working in many areas. * European History Quarterly *

Author Bio

Elena Goodwin is an independent academic and translator of Russian to English. She obtained her PhD in Russian Studies from the University of Exeter, UK, in 2017.