“Mrs. Humphry Ward is sedert jaren geen onbekende”: The translation and publication of Mary Augusta Ward’s novels in the Netherlands, 1888 - 1924

British literature was becoming increasingly popular in the Dutch book market around 1900. British books were imported and translated on a large scale. This dissertation presents a case study of the translation and publication of the novels by the British author Mary Augusta Ward in the Netherlands from 1888 to 1924. An analysis of primary evidence from the Bohn Archives of the Leiden University Library and the Vereeniging ter Bevordering van de Belangen des Boekhandels’ "Nieuwsblad voor den Boekhandel", offers new insights into Dutch translation rights procedures, the negotiations between the Dutch and the British publishers of Ward’s works, the communication between the Dutch publishers and the translators, the competition between English editions of Ward’s novels and the Dutch translations, and the publication of unofficial, competing, translations. In this dissertation, the Dutch publisher De Erven F. Bohn is shown to have paid Smith Elder & Co of London in order to be the first...Show moreBritish literature was becoming increasingly popular in the Dutch book market around 1900. British books were imported and translated on a large scale. This dissertation presents a case study of the translation and publication of the novels by the British author Mary Augusta Ward in the Netherlands from 1888 to 1924. An analysis of primary evidence from the Bohn Archives of the Leiden University Library and the Vereeniging ter Bevordering van de Belangen des Boekhandels’ "Nieuwsblad voor den Boekhandel", offers new insights into Dutch translation rights procedures, the negotiations between the Dutch and the British publishers of Ward’s works, the communication between the Dutch publishers and the translators, the competition between English editions of Ward’s novels and the Dutch translations, and the publication of unofficial, competing, translations. In this dissertation, the Dutch publisher De Erven F. Bohn is shown to have paid Smith Elder & Co of London in order to be the first to obtain the Dutch rights to translate Ward’s novels, despite the fact that the Netherlands had not yet signed the Berne Convention. Furthermore, evidence is found suggesting that individual translators could have titles registered at the Translation Committee on their own behalf, in order to become the private owner of the Dutch translation rights. In addition, the archival sources show that there was a danger of competing Dutch translations being published in the Dutch periodicals of the time, and of the Dutch readers reading the novel in English if their patience was tried, throughout the translation and publication process of Ward’s novels.Show less

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“Mrs. Humphry Ward is sedert jaren geen onbekende”: The translation and publication of Mary Augusta Ward’s novels in the Netherlands, 1888 - 1924