The Power of the Pen : Translation and Censorship in 19th Century Europe

This interdisciplinary collection investigates the relations between translation and different forms and systems of censorship that were operating in nineteenth-century Europe. The volume presents and discusses broadly the research findings of translation studies scholars from a total of nine countries. Contributors have studied not only the apparati of power that enforce censorship but also the symbolic dimension that as well as being inherent to systems is also an explicit activity on the part of decision makers. The papers collected in The Power of the Pen combine to create a sharp historical focus on the role of translators as agents of conformity and/or subversion in the face of censorship in nineteenth-century Europe. No less crucially, this excellent volume provides a framework and a nuanced vocabulary for the discussion of translation and censorship more generally. The Power of the Pen is a major contribution to scholarship on the history of censorship and translation, and will become an indispensable reference in the field.