Jules Verne’s Routledge Translators

From 1874 to 1879, the British firm of George Routledge and Sons published sixteen volumes of English translations from the French of Jules Verne. Like much of Routledge’s output, the volumes appeared without authorisation from the writer or the original publisher; seven credit their translations to Henry Frith, two to T. H. Linklater, and the other seven are anonymous. The books vary widely in translational quality, with some repeatedly classed as mediocre and a few others lauded for their accuracy and style, unusual among the typically unreliable Victorian translations of Verne. This article, the first to organise and review Verne translations through the lens of a single publisher’s output and contributors, reviews existing bibliographical information and critical responses to these translations; presents newly located biographical details on Frith, Linklater, and a previously unidentified third translator, Jessie Campbell; and it offers a comparative critical appraisal of the techniques and styles of the translators, with particular focus on Campbell, now recognisable as one of the numerous freelancing women writers who first brought Verne into English.