From Chawton to China
Austen has travelled far. Her novels sit on bookshelves from Slovenia to Japan, and from Azerbaijan to Iceland. This map plots the locations of translations catalogued from the two collections I visited in the small village of Chawton – at Jane Austen’s House and Chawton House. Though Austen’s work is often characterised as resoundingly and containedly English, her stories have resonated worldwide. In light of this, this map aims to display a visual representation of what it means to consider Austen’s works global or world literature.
Translation Through Time
This map shows the locations of two groups of translations from two contrasting time periods. The first layer gives you a comprehensive view of the spread of translations in the nineteenth century, starting with the very first translation in Switzerland, 1813. The second layer moves out across Europe and beyond, displaying translations published between the years 1994 and 1999. Across almost 200 years of history, what corners of the globe has Austen reached? What new readers have been able to discover her?
Modern Austen Translations
This map, developed as part of my dissertation, shows the locations of translations from 2017, colour-coded by title. It gives a broad overview of the range and location of translations published in the bicentenary of Austen’s death, a time where Austen appreciation was picking up all over the globe. Click on each translation to see information about the publisher, translator, and whether or not the translation is new or reissued. The different layers allow you to explore different qualities of the translations, for example the spread of languages or the division of gender. How do we encounter Austen today?
The Languages of Austen
Maps by year may provide an overview of specific time periods, but for my dissertation project, I aimed to record as many languages of translation as I could find. The results are visible below, in the ‘Languages of Austen’ map, which provides bibliographic information for one translation for each of the 60 languages I identified through my research. Each pin provides information not merely on language, translator, edition and publisher, but also links to reference sources. From Korean to Gujarati to Cornish, which languages surprise you? And crucially, which would you like to learn more about?