This study, in which translation is considered just one part of a complex cultural context, not only highlights the significance of analyzing different materials related to translation, such as paratexts, but also reveals the importance of translators as active agents who make decisions by taking not only linguistic factors but also socio- cultural, political, and historical contexts into account. As a primary material, this study dwells on statements by translators regarding, or, as it were, "surrounding" translations in the form of prefaces in order to study translation and translators in connection with the wider context in which they are situated. The analysis, carried out in this study by looking at a world literature series in translation published by Remzi Publishing House in Turkey in the 1930s and 1940s, reveals important facts about the complex network within which translation takes place. This book will appeal to translation researchers/scholars and translators who are interested in translation history and the role of translators in the social framework.