This collection of essays brings together a decade of writings on translation by leading international translation studies expert, Susan Bassnett. The essays cover a range of topics and will be useful to anyone with an interest in how different cultures communicate.

Introduction 1. Language and Identity 2. Original Sin 3. Theory and Practice: The Old Dilemma 4. Dangerous Translations 5. How Modern should Translations be? 6. Status Anxiety 7. Under the Influence 8. Reference Point 9. Translation or Adaptation 10. Translating Style 11. Telling Tales 12. Pride and Prejudices 13. Turning the Page 14. Poetry in Motion 15. When Translation goes Horribly Wrong 16. Living Languages 17. All in the Mind 18. More than Words 19. Just What did you Call Me? 20. Lost in Translation 21. Good Rhyme and Reason 22. Women’s Work 23. Plays for Today 24. Between the Lines 25. Playing on Words 26. Pleasures of Rereading 27. On the Case 28. Gained in Translation 29. Layers of Meaning 30. The Value of Comparing Translations 31. Where the Fun Comes In 32. Translators Making the News 33 What Exactly did Saddam Say? 34. Native Strengths 35. What’s in a Name? 36. Food for Thought 37. Family Matters 38. Rethinking Theory and Practice 39. The Power of Poetry

Written for a general reader with an interest in language, the essays also nourish the scholarly mind.  Those familiar with translation will be stimulated by the fresh approaches to well-known questions from a personable guide.  To identify the subjects and themes of the essays is to capture only part of their richness.  The wealth of reflection lies in the examples that emerge, effortlessly it would seem, from Bassnett’s experience and learning.  It is her ability to engage with the casual and the serendipitous, to draw together moments across time and continents, that create a marvellous unity of tone, and drive home many important points about the exchange of cultures and languages.