The decision to change the name was made carefully, says the publisher.
Known from a girl’s book Vihervaaran Annasta a new translation is published, in which Anna’s name has been changed.
The new translation respects L. M. Montgomeryn (1874–1942) from the original work Anne of Green Gablesand Anna is now also Anne in Finnish.
It will be published in the fall Terhi Leskinen translation Anne of Vihervaara, the Art House publishing house announced on March 22. He has also written about it Kotiliesi magazine.
Even if it’s just one letter, the change is big. Vihervaaran’s Anna is an established classic in the genre of girls’ books since a century ago. The first translation of the Canadian Montgomery book series was published in 1920.
Subject has aroused lively discussion Art House Instagram post in the comments. Most of the commenters are shocked by the name change. A few are in favor of the decision.
Publisher of Art House Ulla Salmi tells HS that the decision to change the name was long and carefully considered.
“Classics are translated again and the translations are always done in their own time. Nowadays, as a rule, Finnish names are not used in translations,” says Salmi.
“We know that the character is known and loved by readers as Anna, but we considered the name Anne to be a justified solution at this time.”
In the original in the book, the protagonist himself emphasizes that his name is Anne E. Based on this, the Netflix series based on the books is called Anne with an E. The title of the series that appeared in 2017 was translated into Finnish Anna, A at the end.
This is Art House’s first Anne-translation. Previous Finnish translations have been published by WSOY.
The book series follows the story of an orphan girl, who continues through the life of a foster family into adulthood. Anna-books have been made into several movies, TV series, animations and theater versions over the years.
Read more: L. M. Montgomery’s Anna is a beloved classic whose new interpretation is worth getting nervous about
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