Translating for a Living

Abstract This chapter discusses in detail the economic and intellectual challenges of the Muirs’ work in translating many different texts from German literature. They are best known for their versions of Hauptmann, Feuchtwanger, Kafka, Carossa, and Broch. Willa’s linguistic skills are seen to be fundamental to the project, and she seems to have been the sole translator of several of the Hans Carossa texts—under the name ‘Agnes Neill Scott’. She is the lead translator of Hermann Broch, and her correspondence with Broch is featured. Nevertheless, reviewers have tended to underestimate Willa’s contribution, by giving prominence to Edwin’s name. The difficulty of translating Kafka from original, often unpublished texts already edited by Max Brod, is discussed, along with a critical reassessment, most notably by Mark Harmon, of the Muirs’ versions compared to those by more contemporary scholars.