Sir Thomas Hanmer Mistranslates Shakespeare

In 1743 and 1744 a british nobleman named Thomas Hanmer published a book of Shakespeare's works translated froma few previously translated versions. It sold spectacularly well, especially compared to the other versions on the market at the time. However, in this edition Hanmer mistranslated a few of the old english terms, as well as adding some of his own "corrections". This was not disclosed to the buyers, but was infamously discovered(Hubeart Shaking up Shakespeare by T.L. Hubeart Jr..). In Radcliffe's On the Supernatural in Poetry she mentions Hanmer and uses him as an example for her claim that the small details provided by the original author of a work do matter, thus backing her argument around the construction of a scene in a gothic novel.

Associated Place(s)

Event date:

circa. 1743 to circa. 1744