Your Book Review: Thomas Urquhart’s Translation Of Rabelais

[This is one of the finalists in the 2026 book review contest, written by an ACX reader who will remain anonymous until after voting is done. I’ll be posting about one of these a week for several months. When you’ve read them all, I’ll ask you to vote for a favorite, so remember which ones you liked]This is not a review of Rabelais. This is a review of a certain, incomplete translation of Rabelais. It is also arguably one of the greatest translations in our language. Let’s meet the hero of our story.He is born Thomas Urquhart in the year 1611. He is the third of his name and in line to become the 12th chief of the clan Urquhart, one of the older aristocratic families in Northern Scotland. As such, Thomas grows up in the Castle of Cromarty, attended by numerous servants and tutors.It is a true medieval castle, erected in the 1200s out of timber and grey stone, perched on a hill above the town of Cromarty. It is moated, walled, turreted, and battlemented, and rises six stories to a…