To my delight, The Housemaid's Daughter is set to journey beyond the English-reading world!
Yes, the book is going to be translated into several languages. So far the foreign translation rights have been sold to publishers in Italy, Holland, Germany, France, Spain and... China! Each version will have its own cover and title to best represent the story in a particular country. I confess that I am most intrigued with the possibility of a Chinese translation, and what the title will look like in Chinese script.
I recently met with my German publisher when she was in London for the Book Fair. We met for a chat about the book's prospects in Germany, and the choice of the translater who would be turning my English prose into German. There has always been a connection between Germany and South Africa, dating from the time of the German missionaries and settlers who left their homeland to start a new life in Africa. Their influence lives on in the German traditions that are still followed by their descendants, and also in the names of towns like Stutterheim...
I hope this connection will work in the other direction as well, and that Housemaid will find favour among German readers when it makes its debut in bookshops there. The German book is planned to launch in the autumn of 2013. If you have family or friends in Germany, keep them posted!
I can't wait to see it! Gesundheit!
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