A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Improvement in the English Translations of Albrecht von Haller's Usong (1771)
Authors: Tarkka, Laura
Publisher: Wiley
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies
ISSN: 1754-0194
eISSN: 1754-0208
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1754-0208.13004
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1111/1754-0208.13004
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/508608150
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
The political novel Usong (1771), written by the Swiss physiologist Albrecht
von Haller (1708–1777), is set in the fifteenth century and tells the story of a Mongolian
prince who becomes the Emperor of Persia and redesigns the government of his empire to
promote the happiness of his subjects. Interestingly, this novel soon appeared in two com-
peting English translations, published in 1772 and 1773. While contemporary reviewers
focussed on the question of whether the language of Haller’s ‘oriental history’ was imag-
inative enough, this article argues that the English translators interpreted Usong in the
context of the early modern culture of improvement.
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Open access publishing facilitated by Turun yliopisto, as part of the Wiley - FinELibagreement.
