A Harlot High and Low - Reading Schedule

[Deborah, Moderator]

Louise wrote: "Are you planning to read more Balzac later? I'd love to participate :-)"

Louise each month we nominate books and then vote. Whichever book wins becomes the book of the month. Sometimes we do a themed read such as a French author. It depends on the moderator.

[Louise]

Ok :-) Look forward to next months vote then

[Everyman]

Ami wrote: "This is how the "Yahoo Balzac Group" took on reading the entire Human Comedy.
A major influence to the reading order suggested is the book Balzac as He Should Be Read by William Hobart Royce. Royce..."

Incredible. He was even more prolific than Trollope!

[Everyman]

Casceil wrote: "I started reading the Penguin Classics edition and found it very confusing. "

I not only found it confusing, but found the writing difficult to follow. That's the translator's problem, of course, not Balzac's, but that it's a sequel makes the challenge even more challenging. I admit to having abandoned it after about 30 pages, not sure whether I will try again in a different translation.

[Ami]

Everyman wrote: "Casceil wrote: "I started reading the Penguin Classics edition and found it very confusing. "

I not only found it confusing, but found the writing difficult to follow. That's the translator's pro..."

This is disappointing because you would have been a real asset to the discussions. It is a sequel, Everyman, yes; but its ties to the preceding novel and its characters are minimal according to my translator. Another member also posted sentiments along the same lines, and she's read quite a bit of the "Human Comedy." Honestly, it's actually pretty good, translation aside... Vautrin encapsulates every bit of a vile nature as is mentioned in the GR description of the most sinister characters in literature (paraphrased).

[Bonnie]

I did some Translation research today. I found three different ones at least. Text = sentence #s 1 and 4.

1901
James Waring, a pseudonym for Ellen Marriage
(entire “The Human Comedy” originally for Dent Editions)
The Splendors and Miseries of Courtesans OR
Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life OR
The Harlot’s Progress


Esther Happy; or, How a Courtesan Can Love

In 1824, at the last opera ball of the season, several masks were struck by the beauty of a youth who was wandering about the passages and greenroom with the air of a man in search of a woman kept at home by unexpected circumstances…
The young dandy was so much absorbed in his anxious quest that he did not see the ironical exclamations of admiration, the genuine appreciation, the biting gibes, the soft invitations of some of the masks.



1895 ?
Ellery Sedgwick
A Harlot High and Low OR
The Splendors and Miseries of Courtesans

The Way That Girls Love

In 1824, at the last ball of the Opera, many masqueraders were struck with the beauty of a young man who was walking up and down the corridors and foyer, with the appearance of a person in search of a woman, whom unforeseen circumstances had kept at home…
The young dandy was so completely absorbed in his restless search that he did not perceive his success; the exclamations of sarcastic admiration from some of the masqueraders, marks of genuine surprise, gestures of derision, soft words, he heard them not, he saw them not.



1970
Rayner Heppenstall
A Harlot High and Low
(Penguin Classics edition)

Esther’s Happiest Days: A View of the Opera Ball

In 1824, at the last Opera ball, a number of maskers were taken with the good looks of a young man walking about the corridors and the crush-room, with the air of somebody waiting for a woman kept home by unforeseen circumstances…
The young dandy was so engrossed by his uneasy quest that he did not notice the success he was having: the jocularly admiring exclamations of some maskers, the solemn questioning of others, the biting witticisms and jeers, the sweet words, went all unheard, all unseen, by him.

[Bonnie]

URLs for the above Translation info:

Encyclopedia of Literary Translation Into English: A-L, Volume I by O. Classe
https://books.google.com/books?id=myL...
( Balzac’s entry starts on page 98 )

https://balzacbooks.wordpress.com/tra...

http://www.complete-review.com/review...

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id...

http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/...

http://www.biblio.com/the-harlots-pro...

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1660

[Casceil]

I have three translations now. The one I seem to have settled on as most readable is Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, which is in the public domain and free on Kindle.

[Ami]

Casceil wrote: "I have three translations now. The one I seem to have settled on as most readable is Scenes from a Courtesan's Life, which is in the public domain and free on Kindle."

So you "finally" decided, huh?! :) tell me, what was the deciding factor for you in choosing this translation... Is there more ease in Balzac's interpretation of the German language spoken by the Baron? I know Heppenstall found it to be the most difficult aspect when translating... Well, that and the "torpedo" moniker.

[Casceil]

I just found it easier to follow than the other two. The Baron still requires some additional translation, but I find it easier to guess from the words used in this one. Of course, I'm still only about 120 pages into the book, and at times mystified by what is going on. I have a general idea, but I think there may just be too many names for me to keep them all straight.

[Ami]

Casceil wrote: "I just found it easier to follow than the other two. The Baron still requires some additional translation, but I find it easier to guess from the words used in this one. Of course, I'm still only..."

There are so many names, at times, overwhelming because most of these characters are of little or no importance. I finally had to breakdown and write the names out to keep them in order.

[Bonnie]

Thanks all for guiding me away from the Rayner Heppenstall (Penguin) translation. I have found that diff translations definitely make a difference in reading experience so I try to think ahead when (sadly only occasionally) reading books of other languages.

If anyone is doing more research, keep an eye out for the Ellery Sedgwick version.
*Heppenstall = 1970, current Penguin;
*James Waring (maybe Ellen Marriage, too risqué for women) was def done around the Turn of the Century;
*Ellery Sedgwick = did not find conclusive biblio info?

[Deborah, Moderator]

Everyman wrote: "Casceil wrote: "I started reading the Penguin Classics edition and found it very confusing. "

I not only found it confusing, but found the writing difficult to follow. That's the translator's pro..."

It does get a bit easier

[Linda]

I have the Penguin Heppenstall translation, and I am still chugging along but still not quite through week 3 yet. Like Casceil, I'm struggling with all the names but have a general idea of what's going on.