Authors of Swiss Family Robinson
The Mixed-up Authorship of John David Wyss’s Popular Adventure Story
Oct 29, 2009
The beloved children’s classic, The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann (in English John) David Wyss was never intended to be published as a novel, as a result several hands were involved in shaping the book that is read today.
The Creator of The Swiss Family Robinson
Born in Berne, Switzerland in 1743, Johann David Wyss was a minister as well as a student of natural history. He also served as an army chaplain and traveled to many locations during his service. As a result of his background, Wyss was an expert in geography, farming, and nature.
The Birth of an Adventure
Wyss enjoyed and was inspired by the story Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. He decided he wanted to share the adventure with his children in a way that he could use to teach them lessons about faith, natural history, and survival.
The genius of Wyss’s story was two-fold. He sugarcoated lessons for his children and gave them models to follow. The models he created look like real children that any child would love to adventure with. The Robinson children weren’t little goody-two shoes kids that bored the reader to death. They are naughty little boys who make mistakes and sometimes have to try many times before they get it right.
Lost
Somewhere along the line, Wyss wrote his stories down. However, when his children grew up the stories were put aside and forgotten. Twenty years later, his son Johann Rudolph Wyss found the papers and read them. He enjoyed them so much he thought they should be published for other young people to read.
An Accomplished Family
Two of Wyss’s sons were very accomplished and helped produce the first publications of The Swiss Family Robinson. Johann Rudolph Wyss was a professor of philosophy and a librarian in Berne. He was also a gifted writer like his father and wrote the Swiss national anthem.
When Johann Rudolph decided to publish the book, he went through the story and made some changes and editorial improvements. Then his sent it to a publisher in Zurich. The original publication of The Swiss Family Robinson included illustrations by his brother Johann Emmanuel Wyss.
A Better Conclusion
When the story was translated into French, a translator named Baroness de Montolieu was not satisfied with how the story ended and asked J.R. Wyss if she could write a new ending. Wyss agreed to let her do it. However, he was not satisfied with her ending to the story. The French continued to publish her version of the story. However, J.R. Wyss wrote a third ending, which is the ending that most people know today.
The Authorial Hand of Translators
Translation is a talent. A good translator doesn’t just translate the text of a book word for word. A good translator must understand the meaning and the mood of the text and translate it into another language because sometimes there aren’t words or phrases that mean the same thing in both languages.
Of all the English translations of The Swiss Family Robinson, the one that is the most popular is that of author William Henry Giles Kingston. Kingston was the author of 150 boys books and perhaps it was his own interest in writing that gave him insight into translating a story so that it is faithful to the original. When two different translations are compared it becomes obvious that in a way, a translator is also a writer.
Two Different Translations
The Classic Publishing Corporation shares an example of the same text of two different translations to help the reader understand how important translation can be.
Kingston’s Translation
For many days we had been tempest-tossed. Six times had the darkness closed over a wild and terrific scene and returning light as often brought renewed distress, for the raging storm increased in fury until on the seventh day all hope was lost.
G.E. Mitton Translation
Already the storm had continued six days; on the seventh its fury seemed still increasing; and the morning dawned upon us without a prospect of hope, for no one on board even knew where we were. My four boys clung to me in their fright while my wife wiped the tears from her cheeks.
A Compilation
As a result, the story that has been read and loved by hundreds of children over the years was not written by one person, the true identity of the author might be listed as Johann David Wyss-Johann Rudolph Wyss-Baroness de Montolieu-William Henry Giles Kingston. However, the imagination that created the adventure story, The Swiss Family Robinson, belongs to Johann David Wyss alone.
Wyss, Johann David. The Classic Publishing Corporation. 1971.
 |
