I've just heard from my editor that the first ten Daisy Dalrymple mysteries are going to come out in Polish. Exciting news, and it made me reflect on the various translations of my books that have come out over the years.
Daisy has previously appeared only in English and German. The German publisher brought out several editions of 8 of the first 9 books, skipping the 8th, and then stopped. The titles all began Miss Daisy und... but each edition had a different cover, in several different styles, and some came out in both paperback and hardcover, others only in paperback.
I'm inclined to think the wide variety of styles just served to confuse readers!
Many of my Regencies were translated, into French, German, Spanish, Norwegian, Czech (author: Carola Dunnova!), Italian and Portuguese (sadly I never got copies of those two), and the pride of my collection, Mayhem and Miranda in Hebrew. It has a cover that can only be described as appropriate for a "bodice-ripper," which the book certainly is not. And the only page I can read is the copyright page, where they spelled my name wrong.
I've read the French translations. I have to say Regency slang does not translate well. But then, the kind of word-play I'm inclined to indulge in must be practically impossible to translate. What comes to mind is a play on the word "mill," which in Regency times was slang for a boxing match. In my book, the double meaning leads to a misunderstanding. As it was translated into French as "moulin,"--windmill or watermill--the misunderstanding was missing.
The translation that surprised me most was the German version of an anthology in which I had a novella. It went into four editions, three paperbacks and one hardcover, with new art for each.
I guess kittens are popular in Germany.
