Positioning and authority construction through translational intertextuality in La Place’s <i>Théâtre Anglois</i> (1745–1749)

Early modern translations often constituted a way for their authors to actively position themselves in the literary field and to establish their authority. Translators sought to capitalise on their association with renowned agents in the field, especially those involved in the translation process and the author of the source text. In the case of the Théâtre Anglois (1745–1749), the first French anthology of English plays, which is largely devoted to Shakespeare, novice translator Pierre-Antoine de La Place could definitely expect mixed reactions to his association with Shakespeare, and therefore sought to establish relational authority with a model translator and a model translation. He claimed in his preface that he was encouraged to produce a translation of ‘the English theatre’ by the considerable success of Brumoy’s Théâtre des Grecs (1730). This explicit reference activates an intertextual connection between the two translation projects, which is further played out at the paratextual and textual levels. In this article, I propose to examine the strategies implemented by La Place to effect a legitimising association with the Théâtre des Grecs, which was acknowledged and strengthened by numerous critics to the extent that La Place himself came to be regarded as a model translator.