Her translations of Ivan Turgenev and Anton Chekhov were well regarded by Rachel May in her study on translating Russian classics, "The Translator in the Text: On Reading Russian Literature in English". However, May's study also critiqued Garnett for her tendency of "stylistic homogenizing" that "erasthose idiosyncrasies of narrative voice and dialogue that different authors possessed" and for making prudish word choices that "tamed [the Russian classics further." May also analyzed how for decades, Garnett's translations were unquestioningly acclaimed by critics because "she suited the needs of her time so well, that no one knew what questions to ask."