Exploring the backstage of translations: Translators’ manuscripts in the Anthony Burgess archives

This article offers a preliminary exploration of the use of translators’ manuscripts in translation research. It will be argued that, aside from a philological interest, studying translators’ papers is crucial in reconstructing the prehistory and process of translations. It will also be argued that such a study is crucial in analysing and evaluating the factors that influence translations, including the roles of the people involved in the translation process. More specifically, applying to translators’ manuscripts the methods of enquiry developed by genetic criticism will be illustrated through a study of the available manuscripts pertaining to the Italian translation of Anthony Burgess’s libretto, Blooms of Dublin (1986). The aim of the study is to show the importance of developing a specific methodology for investigating the prehistory and process of translation.