ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates publishing houses as actors that play a key role in the formation of cultural narratives through translation. It focuses on the latter sector, since it plays a crucial role in the formation of cultural narratives. Scholars are rather cautious in their evaluation of the changes in practices and perceptions of translation that resulted from the advent of print and the ensuing intense translation activity. M. H. McMurran's research on the translation of prose fiction across the Atlantic Channel during the eighteenth century reveals the same methodological challenges, general trends, vitality and contrasts as those observed in the early printing period. In addition to the expansion of international communications, the rise of free trade agreements and the increase in purchasing power in the Western world, a number of more specific factors have contributed to this increase in translation flows. The wave of concentration and the growing influence of market considerations had various effects on translation flows and translation practices.
