Abstract
Why would The Garnier Brothers, Machado de Assis's publishers, have prevented the translation and consequent internationalization of the writer’s works? This article suggests an answer to this intriguing question based on the analysis of the history of the Garnier Frères publishers, especially regarding their business with Brazil. In fact, the relationship between Machado de Assis and the Garnier Brothers involves three different editors, albeit from the same family and therefore bearing the same surname. Additionally, studying the agreements between the author and his publishers shows that Machado was in charge of his clauses and managed to obtain increasingly favorable conditions, which may have put him at odds with the publishers' goals. Perhaps this is the main reason why Machado de Assis's work was not translated into French until 1910, an important step at the time for the international circulation of a literary text.
Machado de Assis; Baptiste-Louis Garnier; Garnier Frères; translation; publishing