Most people have heard of author Dan Brown and his Da Vinci Code novel series, but for those of us in the translation industry he is more famous for depositing translators in secret locations (to minimise the risk of leaked manuscripts), and the ensuing French movie (Les Traducteurs, The Translators, 2019) which was inspired by the real translators who translated the 3000 page manuscript for ‘Inferno’ in 2013 under lockdown conditions, in less than two months!
According to an article in The Guardian online, the “extraordinary experience of Brown’s translators” inspired Les Traducteurs, by French director Régis Roinsard” but in the movie the first 10 pages of the book (retitled Dedalus) are leaked and the translators are then tasked with finding the source of the leak before it is too late.
In real life, there was no leak (we are a highly professional bunch who value the security and privacy of our partners’ and clients’ translation projects above all else), but there were some true-to-life events that were incorporated into Roinsard’s film, including:
• Only immediate family could know where the translators were, and why
• Armed guards were outside the facility at all times
• Bathroom visits were supervised
• The original manuscript was locked in a safe when not in use
• The translators laptops could not leave the room at any time
• Research was completed on shared computers with the other translators
• The translators were not allowed to discuss their work with anyone outside of the room in which they were working
One of the translators who worked on translating the original manuscript for Brown, Carole Delporte, told The Guardian about the experience saying, “You need people who are psychologically strong…Working in a bunker for a month and a half is a very unusual experience.”
She said it was “a bit like working in a crisis unit. We were under time pressure, and we had to do a top-class job. You mustn’t forget that it will be read by millions of people.”
Five years earlier, Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, scrapped her fifth book, Midnight Sun, after an unfinished draft was published online, so the need for secrecy, security and a fast translation were paramount to Brown and his international publishers.
Releasing the translated versions of ‘Inferno’, at the same time as the English version, meant increased sales in every language so this method of translation has become useful for many international publishers and bestselling authors looking to secure their work and improve initial sales.
As the first translation operation conceived for ‘Inferno’ was such a success, all successive novels by Dan Brown have followed a similar pattern.
In 2017, Origin, the fifth book in Brown’s Langdon series, was translated in Barcelona (where part of the novel is actually set) by a team of 26 translators from around the world.
In the film, Les Traducteurs, the translators become more like secret agents, hunting the source of the leak, which they know must have come from one of their own, while the publisher is ready to use any means necessary to track the culprit down.
It makes the translation industry seem very glamorous, especially when the reality is generally a solitary existence, working from home, researching, and poring over line after line of text. It is the antithesis of the life of a translator!
You can watch a trailer for the film here, or if you’re interested in real-life translations, and want to know how we can help with your translation project, please contact us here.
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