INTERVIEWER
I read you had trouble with the editing of the British Penguin edition of Anna Karenina.
VOLOKHONSKY
They hated what we did.
PEVEAR
It was quite something. For example, Vronsky meets Anna on the railroad coming to Moscow. He says, “Did you come recently?” And the copy-editor wrote a comment which said, “I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, but this word now has acquired different meanings.” And there is better! Kitty is discussing the upcoming ball. Seventeen-year-old, completely innocent Kitty says, “I do like balls.” Again the copy editor wrote, “I’m not sure if you’re aware …” Then the editor had this other problem. I had written Anna “got into the carriage.” And the editor said, this is the American usage of the word “got”. We can’t do this in a British edition. You should say Anna “went” into the carriage. I wrote back, “I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, but this word has now acquired different meanings . . . ”