No Way, Madame Bovary

When should a work, especially a masterpiece, be re-translated? If you can answer that question, you're more insightful than a lot of other people. There is no single, certainly no simple, answer. The Quixote has been translated into English at least 20 times, the most recent being Edith Grossman's critically acclaimed 2005 re-translation. Two questions must be asked, and in my opinion, at least one must be answered in the affirmative: Does the new translation improve on former translation(s)? and Is the former translation(s) so inaccessible to contemporary readers that a new translation is warranted?

According to Clive James, Margaret Mauldon's re-translation of Flaubert's Madame Bovary misses on both counts. He makes a pretty convincing case. You can read his review here.