To celebrate the Translation Theme Semester and try our hand at
digital humanities we created this interactive chronology of translations of Cervantes'
novel Don Quixote into English.
The wonderful richness and complexity of Don Quixote inspired many authors to accept the seemingly impossible challenge of translating it into their own language and making it available to a wider circle of readers. Indeed, some of these translators were so wildly successful that they managed to turn Cervantes' work into one of the most read books in 18th century England. It is also curious to note that many of the translators worked almost simultaneously on their own rendering of the novel and, as a result, a number of different Don Quixotes would be published in a quick succession. The readership would be satisfied for a while, and then another flurry of Don Quixotes would appear again.
To reveal bibliographic and historical details of each translation, together with images of and links to the holdings of the University of Michigan Library, click each timeline entry. This is very much a work in progress. Visit us again to see it develop. For comments and questions, please contact barbalva@umich.edu or joque@umich.edu.
The wonderful richness and complexity of Don Quixote inspired many authors to accept the seemingly impossible challenge of translating it into their own language and making it available to a wider circle of readers. Indeed, some of these translators were so wildly successful that they managed to turn Cervantes' work into one of the most read books in 18th century England. It is also curious to note that many of the translators worked almost simultaneously on their own rendering of the novel and, as a result, a number of different Don Quixotes would be published in a quick succession. The readership would be satisfied for a while, and then another flurry of Don Quixotes would appear again.
To reveal bibliographic and historical details of each translation, together with images of and links to the holdings of the University of Michigan Library, click each timeline entry. This is very much a work in progress. Visit us again to see it develop. For comments and questions, please contact barbalva@umich.edu or joque@umich.edu.
Barbara Alvarez + Justin Joque
12/05/12
Selected Bibliography
Alvarez Calleja, María Antonia. "La serie de traducciones de El Quijote y su influencia en el desarrollo de la literatura inglesa." La huella de Cervantes y del Quijote en la cultura anglosajona. Ed. José Manuel Barrio Marco and María José Crespo Allué. Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid, 2007. 499-504.
Cunchillos Jaime, Carmelo. "Traducciones inglesas del Quijote: La traducció de Motteux." Cuadernos de investigación filolégica 10.1-2 (1984) : 111-128.
Knowles, Edwin B. "Thomas Shelton, Translator of Don Quixote." Studies in the Renaissance 5 (1958): 160-175. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2856982
Lo Ré, A. Essays on the Periphery of the Quijote. Newark, DE: Juan de la Cuesta, 1991.
Montgomery, James H. "Was Thomas Shelton the Translator of the Second Part (1620) of Don Quixote?" Cervantes: Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America 26.1-2 (2006): 209-217.
Nardo, Anna K. "John Phillips's Translation of Don Quixote and the 'Humour of Our Modern Language'." Restoration 36.1 (2012): 1-22.
Rutherford, John. "Brevísima historia de las traducciones inglesas de Don Quijote." La huella de Cervantes y del Quijote en la cultura anglosajona. Ed. Josí Manuel Barrio Marco and María José Crespo Alluí. Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid, 2007. 481-498.
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