The Best WAR & PEACE English Translation of All Time?

[Robert Chandler]

Dear all,

Russell Valentino writes:
> The David Remnick NY-er piece was in the November 7 number for 2005. It
> doesn't say a lot about War and Peace specifically, though it does note that
> it's the next big project of Pevear and Volokhonskaya. It mentions the new
> Briggs  translation (which is not among those I've used in class).
Briggs's is a good translation.

>It also doesn't make Constance Garnett look so good. And it's entertaining,
I was struck more by the cheapness of the numerous jeers at Constance
Garnett.  She was a highly intelligent lady, with both courage and judgment.
While retranslating various C19 stories for my Penguin Classics anthology, I
usually had four or five previous translations open on my desk.  Hers was
almost always the best, both in terms of accuracy and in terms of preserving
the 'foreignness' of the original.  Yes, her dialogue is often stiff, but
that criticism can be made of many other translators, including recent ones.

Best wishes,

Robert

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