Just wondering, but where abouts is Marlinspike hall located? I presume it's somewhere in Belgium, but can anyone give a more accurate area?

Hi Jordy,

Have a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Cheverny

Also search our site as well. We have some very knowledgable people on this forum who will be more than happy to provide more info.

Cheers,
Ranko

I think the answer to this question depends on which translation you're reading and how you interpret the clues. Marllinspike's look was based on Château de Cheverny in France. But I think in the English translation, Marlinspike clearly appears to be in England. Here's how I answered the question in The Tintin Trivia Quiz:

What country is Marlinspike Hall located in?
England. King Charles II bequeathed Marlinspike hall to Francis Haddock in Red Rackham’s Treasure, page 60 panel 2 of the compact edition. Furthermore, on page 44, panel 2 of The Secret of the Unicorn, Tintin holds a letter addressed to the Bird brothers at Marlinspike Hall, Marlinshire, England. This, of course, is in the American editions. Marlinspike is Moulinsart in French, and Marlinspike is modeled after a French castle.

The originals had it in the Ardennes, in Belgium (check Les bijoux de la Castafiore.) The English translations aren't too great, and why did they Anglicize everything?
Moulinsart remains Moulinsart, but the books could be in English otherwise.

Danagasta
The English translations aren't too great, and why did they Anglicize everything?

I disagree that the English translations "aren't too great", just my personal opinion. I'm sure there are some parts that could be bettered but overall I think they're great! And of course they’ve had official approval from the master himself. The English translators were probably the only ones that ever consulted with Hergé and his team to get them to the standard they are. And from all accounts Hergé was most pleased with them.

With regard to Anglicization it's well-documented already on this site; the decision was made back at a time in the 50s when the publishers were taking a gamble on the series and they needed it to appeal to English-speaking kids.

The recent black and white English editions do not anglicize as much as the colour books. Some names are kept the same as the colour editions, otherwise it's a more "faithful" (if that's the word) translation which doesn't necessarily improve it in my opinion. I think it would have been amusing to see Tintin arrive back at Charing Cross at the end of Soviets ! ;-)

Read this interview with the English translators for more.

Moulinsart remains Moulinsart, but the books could be in English otherwise.

Indeed, plenty of other publishers of different languages have chosen to change names and places to fit their respective languages; Moulinsart is Mühlenhof in German, Molensloot in Dutch, Maesymwstwr in Welsh, etc, etc.

Actually, I received two new Swedish editions of Unicorn and Rackham recently for my birthday. Although the Château is named Moulinsart there it got me thinking whilst reading it (despite my Swedish being very limited) that Tintin inhabits a strange world where it's supposed to be set in Belgium but the scrolls, books in the background, newspaper reports and many other things are in Swedish. Even Calculus's name in Swedish - Karl Kalkyl -is based on the English edition.

I believe a good translation should tread the line between retaining the meaning (in the case of Tintin many puns would be lost on non-French speakers) and trying at the same time not to over-translate from the original and distort the meaning. I think the English editions succeeded in this, enough for it to be a successful series anyway!

The English translations aren't too great, and why did they Anglicize everything?

I, too, must strenuously disagree. I think the English translations are fantastic. I don't read French, so can't compare directly, but the English translations hold together on their own, with the humor intact.

I believe the original names should have been retained and footnotes added if there were puns. Not too hard. And regardless of the language, certain things need to be retained. I mean, couldn't "Sapristi!" just have been kept, reflecting Tintin's origins? They were overtranslated, and made almost too British for a "continental" translation . That localization did away with the original Belgian cultural references and can be confusing.

I've also read French since I was a little kid. The books are like everything else---best in the original form ;)

Danagasta
I believe the original names should have been retained and footnotes added if there were puns. Not too hard.

Incidently, the new (2004) Swedish translations, which I mentioned earlier, do include footnotes. Enhörningens Hemlighet (The Secret of the Unicorn), has information about the Old Street Market on page 1, a note about Jacques Van Melkebeke’s cameo on page 2, info on Santo Dominigo on page 14, etc, etc. Whilst this might be interesting to Tintin-nuts like us, it made me quite glad that we don’t have them in the English books (yet!). I felt they detract quite a bit from the story, especially for a young kid reading them for the first time. Putting footnotes in for all the puns, plays on words may mean quite a lot of footnotes, a bit of a chore for the young novice! Still, I think an annotated version is a nice idea, perhaps to go alongside the ‘normal’ edition. Oh, and the original facsimile English version, the original ink edition, the leather bound version, and... ;-)

The books are like everything else---best in the original form

Perhaps the books are, as are a lot of other things... but everything else?

I forget that gets lost on a lot of people, only on this forum though. By "everything" I mean all things Tintin-related. I speak and write in high-context unless doing news.

The originals had it in the Ardennes, in Belgium (check Les bijoux de la Castafiore.)

Don't believe these journalists of "Paris-Flash" !! They don't know what they are telling !!
In the original version, they are saying "c'est à Ghand, dans les Ardennes belges, célèbre pour ses champs de tulipes..."
1) Ghand doesn't exist. The city is named Gand (in French) or Gent(in Flemish)

2) Gand is in Flanders (north of Belgium), the "Ardennes" are in the south

3) tulipes fields are in Holland, not in Belgium

4) "Ghand" is only the place where Bianca Castafiore is supposed to have met Haddock for the first time !