History of German Translations
(I like to thank Allison Kyle Leopold for the motivation and Dr. Freya Stephan-Kühn † for providing the informations) The most important info right now: Little Women was first translated to German language in 1877 (both parts!) soon followed by the translation of Little Men in 1881. Other available translation were "Eight cousins", "In blauer und in grauer Uniform" and "Frau Podger's Theetopf und andere Erzählungen" As all these translations exist, it is difficult to understand that in these days (November1998) only the first part of Little Women is available in German language. The latest edition that covered both parts of Little Women (plus Little Men and Jo's Boys in a second volume) was last issued in 1982 and is now out of print. Annotated and shortened editions were used for English education in German schools. I found an edition from the year 1912 in the BLB [1]. The annotations covered both, language and subjects not common for German readers (like: What is "Pilgrim's Progress")
The translations were distributed under many different names. I compiled a list with the German titles. Please keep in mind, that it isn't a complete list. Little Women:
Little Men
Eight cousins or The aunt-hill
An Old-Fashioned Girl
Jack and Jill
Misc shortstories
Misc shortstories
A Long Fatal Love Chase.
The Inheritance
All infos based on the German encyclopedia Kinder- und Jugendliterartur
in Deutschland 1840 - 1950 [Children's literature in Germany] by
Aiga Klotz. Volumes 1-5(?), 1990-2000(?) (not yet complete). ISBN
3-476-00701-4 except:
[1]: BLB: Badische Landesbibliothek Karlsruhe
(library of the state Baden in Karlsruhe)
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