Great Translators of the World – Sarah Austin
Sarah Austin was born Sarah Taylor in 1793. Her mother, Susannah, ensured that she was educated in Latin, French, German and Italian, among other things. Her husband, John Austin, was a legal scholar and the couple were well-known in London, where they mingled with some of the most noted intellectuals of their day.
Sarah Austin became renowned as a writer and translator, whose work provided much of her family’s income. In 1833, one of her finest works of translation, Characteristics of Goethe, was published, annotated with her notes and criticisms, and in 1840, Leopold von Ranke’s History of the Popes was similarly well-received.
In her later years, Austin argued for the importance of girls’ education, citing as challenges at the time the fact that many female village schoolteachers had not been taught how to deliver a rigorous academic education to girls, despite generally doing their best. Sarah Austin is remembered as the translator who introduced some of Germany’s greatest writings to English audiences. Her approach was strikingly modern; she started each project by communicating directly with the author, inviting them to be actively engaged with her translation work through to publication.
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