#isabel hapgood

We are using the Hapgood translation! Hooray, another Hapgood fan!!

She’s clunky at times but ultimately solid. A quality fun 19th century translation.

In our discord server we even have a commonly-used emoji of Isabel Hapgood with laser eyes. It is used whenever Hapgood has made a very Hapgood choice.

“The lady’s name was Isabel Florence Hapgood, a nd she was born in Boston, of orthodox English-Scotch stock, on November 21, 1850....How it came about that, with her undiluted Yankee heritage, she “made her own practically all the languages of Continental Europe, including various Russian dialects and Old Church Slavonic” is one of those phenomena that pass understanding”

the mystery of how a Mere Woman from America learned several languages clearly overshadows little details of her life like 

“she was a guest of the Czarina--probably one of the last guests...came the Revolution, and if Isabel Hapgood had not had so many friends among all sorts and conditions of Russians she might have had trouble getting out.  As it was, she had to leave by the back door-- Vladivostock.  She died in new York on June 26, 1928.”

I FEEL LIKE SOME NEWS IS MISSING THERE, also apparently Hapgood had an Adventure Life?? I want to know more ?? 

We use the Isabel Hapgood translation, which you can find on The Gutenberg Project website (and also here, if that page doesn't load right for you!) However, we encourage people to follow along in whatever translation works best for them. We use Hapgood because it is in the public domain and the full text is easily accessible for copypasting. The accessibility is its greatest strength! However, it is also an old 19th century translation that may be difficult for people who struggle with 19th century language. Hapgood also has a reputation for being "clunky"/over-wordy, hewing so close to the French syntax in ways that sound awkward in English. However, I still like Hapgood! And because it's the easiest to copypaste online, most of the "famous" versions of certain quotes are from Hapgood (ex, "Do you permit it?") Our Discord server even has Hapgood emojis. This one is used whenever she makes a very Hapgood choice:

Other good translations we recommend are Wilbour (poetic 19th century translation), Fahnestock Macafee (updated version of Wilbour, no footnotes), Rose (modernized language but maybe too modern, has footnotes) and Donougher (modernized language but maybe occasionally less "poetic"-sounding, has tons of footnotes.) If you have the Denny translation of Les Mis, you should be aware that it is a heavily abridged version of the novel that often isn't clearly labeled that way, and if you try to follow along during a close-read you will likely be confused when people starting talking about the many passages Denny cuts. The Wraxall translation is also dubious.