Comparing de Brilhac's original with Behn's translation reveals the latter's negotiation of the necessarily complex and at times conflicting role of cultural translator and editorial intermediary. This article dips below the discursive surface to provide a new way of analysing Behn's work. Behn's latitude respected authorial intention but adapted the text when literal translation proved difficult. The self–supporting Aphra Behn, who translated from French in the late seventeenth century to earn an income, acknowledged this debate and indicated her preference for Dryden's translation practice of latitude in her epistolary dedication in the preliminary matter of 'Agnes de Castro: or, The Force of Generous Love' (1688), which was originally written by Jean-Baptiste de Brilhac and entitled 'Agnès de Castro, Nouvelle Portugaise' (1688). In the seventeenth century, Abraham Cowley and John Dryden dominated a debate that centred on fidelity to authorial copy. The complex production of translation and editorial intermediation is a timeless, often contentious issue.
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