Decadence: the first English translation of Maxim Gorky's Delo Artamonovykh

The article deals with the history of Decadence, the first English translation of M. Gorky's Delo Artamonovykh. The research brings forth the importance of a thorough analysis of English translations to the study of the novel in addition to the new edition of the novel in English. The results of the research have never been introduced for the scientific use before. Delo Artamonovykh was first published in Russian in 1925. Though, having been quickly translated into German and French within first four years after its publication, the novel owes its first translation to a British translator, Veronica Scott-Gatty. Due to her work on the novel, Delo Ar-tamonovykh is still known as Decadence in English literary context. As a result of the author's studies, it can be stated that the first English translation of Delo Artamonovykh gave only a rough understanding of the text to its English readers. Even a cursory textual analysis of the translation makes it clear that the English text had lost the imagery of Gorky's language, while some phrases, translated into English, do not make sense. Inadequate translation could be justified by the knowledge of Russian literature and language that Veronica Scott-Gatty gained during her studies at the University of Cambridge in 1912-1916. The choice of the subjects that Scott-Gatty studied at the University of Cambridge gives us a reason to connect the publication of the first English translation of Delo Ar-tamonovykh with an extensive history of Russian studies in Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century and its key researcher, Jane Ellen Harrison. Having reconstructed the identity of the translator, Veronica Scott-Gatty, the author can justify her choice of the title for the translation of Gorky's novel - "Decadence". From the study of Scott-Gatty's personal archive materials, it is certain that Scott-Gatty did not seek to create an outstanding translation. She could have been moved by the desire to excel in translating from Russian, or the translation could have been merely an assignment for her class in Russian. Either way, the novel Delo Artamonovykh, crucially important for the understanding of early Soviet literature, in its first English translation, could not at that time give a genuine idea of the incredibly strong text and one of the few major works of early Soviet literature. In conclusion, it is important to emphasize once again that the first translation of Delo Artamonovykh is not a qualitative literary translation, an opinion that was shared by the translator herself. The fact that the latest edition of Delo Artamonovykh was published in English in 1984 with Veronica Scott-Gatty's translation makes us underline the importance of a new publication of Delo Artamonovykh in English, using the 1948 translation of the text made by Alec Brown. Moreover, the translation made by Alec Brown should, in the author's opinion, be considered as the first literary English translation of the novel. In addition, no less than the new edition of the English translation, the history of the English translation of Delo Artamonovykh is important for further study of the history of Maxim Gorky's work.

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