If the full PDF of Translation, History and Culture proves elusive, search for individual essays like “Still Trapped in the Labyrinth” (Bassnett) or “Translation and the Canon” (Lefevere). These are often freely available in academic journals.

– Lefevere’s influential concept: all translations involve some degree of manipulation, adaptation, or rewriting to fit the target culture’s norms, poetics, and ideology.

Published in 1990, this collection of essays served as a manifesto for the "cultural turn" in translation theory. Before this book, translation was often viewed as a linguistic exercise—a mechanical substitution of words between languages. After its publication, it became impossible to ignore the role of history, power dynamics, ideology, and cultural context.

Susan Bassnett's work has had a significant impact on the field of translation studies, influencing a generation of scholars and translators. Her emphasis on the cultural and historical aspects of translation has helped to shape our understanding of translation as a complex and multifaceted activity.

Before the 1990s, translation was often viewed as a technical task of swapping words from one language to another while trying to remain "faithful" to the original. Bassnett and Lefevere argued that this narrow view ignored the most important factor: Bassnett Translation Studies - mchip.net

Bassnett and Lefevere’s work is still under copyright (typically until 70 years after the authors’ deaths). Purchasing a used copy or an official e-book ensures the authors’ heirs and publishers can continue producing academic work. However, for researchers on a budget, interlibrary loans and open-access chapters are the best compromise.