Küfferle’s Demons 1 and 2 (and 3?)

by Edoardo Esposito

Rinaldo Küfferle translated Dostoevsky’s Demons for Mondadori’s collection “Biblioteca Romantica”, directed by G.A. Borgese, in 1931. More than twenty years later Mondadori republished the translation, but with so many changes that Küfferle refused to sign it. After his death the translation was republished by Sansoni, with no mention of the original translator, whereas the changes were attributed to a third person, Giorgio Maria Nicolai. This article analyzes to what extent the various editions respect the original intentions of the author.