Translating 'filth and trash': German translations of Agatha Christie's detective novels between 1927 and 1939

Abstract

Translating Agatha Christie's first detective novels was a challenge for the German-language translators and publishers involved. Christie was first translated into German in 1927 by Irene Kafka. However, the three Christie novels she translated were all re-translated within a span of ten years. This article explores the background of the translations of Christie's novels, which can be found, on the one hand, in the tensions caused by the peripheral position of detective fiction in the polysystem (considered "filth and trash" by conservative forces), and, on the other, in the enormous success of the genre. Such tensions have left traces in the translations. This article highlights how translation decisions are determined by multiple factors, including: the status and perception of detective fiction, the status of translations from English, the reasons publishing houses published detective fiction, the function of the publication, the choice of the translator, and external (for example political or financial) constraints.