Translation + Inspiration

The Anna Project 2

1869–summer 1871: double tragedy, war and bad Victorian poetry

In our first instalment, we met Anna Mues as she travelled from Germany to England and settled in as governess for the Baiss family in Kent. Picking up the story where we left off, we find Anna enjoying a comfortable upper middle-class existence, approvingly citing a rather gushing poem written by a friend of the family that lavishes praise upon the ‘delightsome union’ demonstrated by the family members.

But all is not well in paradise. The summer of 1870 marks the start of the Franco–Prussian war and Anna is in the awkward position of supporting the side that is seen by many in England to be the aggressor. Within the Baiss family too, tragedy is brewing and back in Germany, in Anna’s own family, more sadness awaits.

Read on for part two of The Anna Project. If you would like some background details on Anna, you can find them on my LinkedIn page.

Memoir of German governess, Anna Mues, p.5
Memoir of German governess, Anna Mues, p.6
Memoir of German governess, Anna Mues, p.7
Memoir of German governess, Anna Mues, p.8
Memoir of German governess, Anna Mues, p.9

Hannah

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3 responses to “The Anna Project 2”

  1. The Anna Project 3 – © Muse Translation 2022 Avatar
    The Anna Project 3 – © Muse Translation 2022

    […] part two of the Anna Project, Anna’s time working as governess for the Baiss family was drawing to a close. We now join […]

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  2. bravelyenchanting7f68fe58ed Avatar
    bravelyenchanting7f68fe58ed

    When you translate the writing of a woman from the 19th century, do you have her language reflect the linguistic norm of her time?

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    1. Hannah Avatar
      Hannah

      That’s such a good question – one that I thought of a lot while I was translating. My overall instinct was to maintain a sense that this was an older text. To give a couple of examples, in part 1 I wrote that Anna ‘conceived the desire to venture on another trip’ and that working in England ‘was also in line with my own inclination’, whereas modern English would probably have rendered this as ‘I decided I wanted to go travelling again’ and ‘I felt the same way too’. But it felt more authentic to Anna’s voice to keep a degree of formality in the writing, although I didn’t want to go too far and turn this into a pastiche.

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