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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

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If you're going to read one of the great classics of literature-and you should-don't pick up this edition. It is a reprint of a version that dates back to the 1870s and was exposed more than 40 years ago for cutting nearly one-quarter of Verne's story and mistranslating much of the remainder. Its reappearance in this edition is all the more amazing considering Tor's status as a leading science fiction publisher, and the company's willingness to perpetrate this fraud on is many readers is truly stunning. If you want to truly get to know Verne's novel, pick up the elegant Naval Institute Press edition, in a modern, complete, updated translation, with commentary by the leading American Verne expert today, Walter James Miller. That book also comes with many of the artistic engravings that illustrated the original French first edition (no illustrations are to be found in the B&N Mercier reprint). Less attractive but more academic is the Oxford Classics version of Twenty Thousand Leagues. This review is posted on behalf of the North American Jules Verne Society by Jean-Michel Margot, president NAJVS.

This is without a doubt the best translation of Jules Verne's 1870 science fiction classic "Vingt mille lieues sous les mers" ("20,000 Leagues under the Sea"). This translation by two Verne scholars, Walter James Miller and Frederick Paul Walter, takes all the knowledge available on the book and its author to not only make an accurate and readable complete text (early versions often omit a full quarter of the French original) that fixes the many errors of earlier translators, but also purges the text of many mistakes that were made by the original French compositors. The research and work that went into this translations is really quite stunning, and the result is a text that really lets Verne's genius shine: "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" is not only a brilliant piece of scientific prophecy, but also a thrilling story with superb, subtle characterizations.

The plot is familiar: Captain Nemo, an enigmatic figure who has withdrawn himself from the world, tours the oceans in his submarine called the Nautilus. We see this journey of 20,000 leagues (approx. 43,200 miles) through the eyes of Professor Pierre Aronnax, a scientist who is both Nemo's guest and prisoner. Also aboard with Aronnax are his manservant Conseil and a gruff ship's harpooner, Ned Land. The Nautilus encounters many wonders and obstacles on its long voyage: underwater forests, giant clams, attacks by huge squid, imprisonment in ice at the South Pole, monster storms, a war with a pack of sperm whales, and the discovery of the lost continent of Atlantis. But as something deep and destructive gnaws away at Captain Nemo, his prisoners seek a way to escape from the miracle ship.

In the English-speaking world Jules Verne has rarely received in the praise he truly deserves as a writer. People applaud his scientific foresight (while criticizing him for errors that were usually the fault of the translators), but shrug off his writing as inconsequential, with cardboard characters and plotless stories. If only these critics would read this translation of Verne's best novel...they would have to re-think their position on the great French writer! His genius for blending adventure, comedy, and psychology burst through in this translation. The book does veer into lengthy descriptions of marine life in places, and modern readers are likely to skim these parts (Verne even provides clues in the text to indicate when he's about to digress), but as a whole the novel is absolutely engrossing, throwing one stupendous adventure after another at the characters, while developing a mystery around Captain Nemo and increasing tension onboard the Nautilus so that the many different incidents hold together as a single plot. Even though submarines are commonplace technology today, Verne infuses his story with such awe-inspiring wonder that you can't help but feel the same sense of amazement as Professor Aronnax when he finds himself cruising the depths of the world's oceans. Real wonder never gets stakes, and no one was better at creating wonder than Jules Verne.

Aside from the excellent translation, this edition contains numerous extras (if this were a DVD, it would be labeled as a Special Edition Director's Cut). The lengthy introduction explains Verne's background, education, the development of the novel, the many things that Verne accurately predicted, the book's unsung literary qualities, the different French texts, and the problems with earlier translations. All the original illustrations from the original French edition are reproduced in the text, and generous footnotes give the reader a guide through Verne's more obscure references and shed light on the author's scientific genius. As a bonus at the end of the book, the editors include a new translation of the relevant passages from "Mysterious Island" that discuss Captain Nemo's background (just in case you're too impatient to go read "Mysterious Island" for yourself to solve the Captain Nemo mystery). There's also a table of the measurements used in the novel for those readers who really want to test the author's scientific accuracy.

There really isn't any other choice when it comes to translations of the "20,000 Leagues under the Sea." Nothing comes close to this: it will appease hard science readers, and it will open people up to Jules Verne's overlooked literary talents. With the wealth of background information available, this edition does better by Jules Verne -- ANY Jules Verne -- than has ever been published in the English language.

If you want to read the novel itself rather than a "version" based upon it, I recommend the relatively inexpensive 'Bantam Classic' edition of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. Although the foreword by Ray Bradbury is negligible, the Anthony Bonner translation is a graceful compromise between the 1870 French and modern American English, catching the flavor of the period without burying the reader in pseudo-Victorian turns of phrase.

That said, readers who come to LEAGUES from either text, audio, or film adaptations of the novel are likely in for a shock, for the original novel is quite different. Some basics, however, remain the same: Professor Arronax, his valet Conseil, and harpooner Ned Land are coaxed into assisting the United States in a search for a sea monster said to be terrorizing shipping lanes--but the monster is not flesh and blood. The three soon find themselves in the hands of the mysterious Captain Nemo, who has created a machine that glides beneath the surface of the ocean: a submarine named Nautilus.

But there the similarity ends. While there are very clear similarities between the novel and the various adaptations it has spawned, the Verne novel is less concerned with story, characters, and adventures than it is in creating a plausible vision of something that simply did not exist at the time Verne wrote: a fully functional submarine capable of navigating even the most treacherous waters. Consequently, the bulk of Verne's text is concerned with detailed descriptions of the Nautilus and the sealife it encounters.

Many modern readers may find it uphill work, particularly when Professor Arronax determinedly notes the sealife he sees to the point of scientific classification. But even so, and while it may not reach the level of "great art" literature, LEAGUES is a fascinating novel to read--fascinating as much for itself as for what it tells us about the world of the 1870s and what was believed to be possible. The vision that Verne had would indeed come to pass: there would be submarines, and they would strong enough to brave the polar seas. It is an impressive accomplishment--and a tremendously fun read.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Most of Jules Verne's works were hastily translated, with many "improvements" made in the process, such as deletion of scientific exposition, as well as deletion of many moments deemed by the translator as dull.

This, the Restored and Annotated version of 20,000 leagues, is a VAST improvement over previous English editions. The translation is very well done, and the annotations explain what has been changed and what previous translations accomplished.

Highly recommended!

I could not believe this version of 20,000 leagues under the sea. I learned so much from this book. All the other movies and stories that I heard about Captain Nemo were not even close to all the adventures that he goes on in this book. When I think about the movie by Walt Disney and then remember the book I realize that the movie was about 1/4 of the books adventures.

All the adventures that I never heard about before like the hunt on the sea floor with the electric bullets, the Arabian tunnel under the sea, Santorin Island the Grecian Archipelago, the volcanoes of the Mediterranean, the Bay of Vigo with all the treasures, the size of the mountains in Atlantis, the adventure at the South Pole, the fight with all the sperm whales, his home Island and the production of salt to run his electric engines.

There is so much more to this story than what I have heard before and in this edition the foot notes are excellent. I especially like the story of Arachne and how the name of Arachnid came to mean spiders. The footnotes explain all the literary references which are helpful to understanding the characters. There is so much information here about the sea world in an adventure that makes each moment exciting.

Verne must have done so much research for this book to get all the scientific information correct. I never thought they knew all those things about the sea at that time.

I was surprised by the character of Nemo who never seemed to go after anyone unless he was attacked. The whole idea that he chased after all forms of warships was something made up in Hollywood. Nemo never seemed to want to even deal with people. The story of Nemo's life at the end of the book explains many of his behaviors.

The description of all the types of food that they were constantly eating was interesting you never knew what they were going to catch in the Nautilus' nets.

I thought the adventure at the South Pole was the best of all with the predicament that they got into. It was the most adventurous and had the most suspense.

I do not know why a book like this is not required reading for high school kids they would learn so much as well as adults. There is so much science geography, ichthyology, astronomy practical uses of physics etc.

I would recommend this book to everyone who likes science and adventure.

One of the great problems with Jules Verne is that in the English speaking world he is relagated to the category of "Boys' Own Adventures". On the Continent, however, he is considered a brilliant social commentator, and biting satirist, AND a man who predicted the future. This is a volume that helps set matters to the right.

If you know of "20,000 Leagues" already, you will find little different at first. The plot is still the plot. Nemo is still Nemo, Prof. Aronnax is still pompous and fascinated by the Nautilus and Ned Land....

Ned Land is a flaming socialist.

This is one of the major shifts between the original French and the "cleaned up" English editions. Most of the science of the day was pulled out as a "dull read" and all the Socialism, anti-English remarks, and other commentaries of a "questionable nature" were excised. We Americans have unfortunately been until only very recently only able to find these poor early translations, or translations based on these poor translations. There is much more to Verne than submarines and diving suits. He is a man with a vision of his times, both scientific and political, and his books underline this strongly.

English readers, demand your Verne well-translated! Do not allow yourself to be fobbed off with bowlderized versions! To be able to read as he wrote himself (well, in English, for those of us who don't read French...) is a greater pleasure than merely an amusing old science-fiction story from the 19th century. Reading this book, as Verne /meant/ it to be read, if a pleasure, but also a struggle to understand ourselves and our relationship to the oceans themselves.

This is Jules Verne at his best, creating the enigmatic character of Captain Nemo.

The setting is the mid-nineteenth century. Deadly and mysterious calamities continue to befall ocean-going vessels, with wild reports by survivors that the culprit is a sea monster large enough to ram and sink ships. French professor M. Aronnax finds himself aboard the Abraham Lincoln, a ship charged with finding and destroying the beast. Accompanying him is his loyal servant, Conseil. The ship succeeds in locating the leviathan, but it, too, falls victim to a deadly attack. Aronnax, Conseil, and a Canadian harpooner named Ned Land are the sole survivors--rescued by none other than the "monster" itself, which turns out not to be flesh and bone, but the world's largest and most technically advanced submarine.

They meet Captain Nemo, the owner, inventor, and sovereign leader of the flag-less ship, Nautilus. He explains that they're now his prisoners for life, though they will be treated well and are free to roam the ship. Thus begins an underwater tour of the planet, narrated by the fascinated Aronnax. With today's knowledge of the seas, some of the action is laughable, but at the time this was leading-edge science fiction. Verne's vision of submarine technology, the use of electricity, scuba operations, and various other things is uncanny and typical of great science fiction writers' ability to foretell the future. The ridiculous episodes include traversing an underwater tunnel beneath the Suez to the Mediterranean; a visit to Atlantis; and a trip to the South Pole under the ice, where they break through the surface for a look-see. This would be difficult, considering that the ice is more than a mile thick with a continent of solid rock below. But remember that when Verne wrote the book in 1869, Antarctica had not been explored and remained a virtual myth.

The enduring lure of 20,000 Leagues, though, is Verne's Captain Nemo. It takes the entire book (and then some) to learn who this genius Nemo really is. What horrible ordeal has produced such a cynical man, one driven to build the self-sustaining Nautilus, to swear off all contact with the "civilized" world, never to touch land again, and to ruthlessly and brutally defend himself against any perceived threat? At one glance we see a maniacal scientist worthy of a James Bond thriller. But at closer inspection, Verne has captured the timeless personification of angst over the errors and excesses of Man's interminable war against Nature and himself. Aspects of this same character can today be found in political and environmental activism throughout the world. Actually, it strikes a cord with us all; everyone wants at some time to build what today would amount to a spaceship and shove off from this screwed up planet, saying, "Adios, idiots. It's your mess now." --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Big Ice.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a masterful science fiction classic and the crowning achievement of Verne's impressive literary legacy. While the story itself is absorbing, it is the character of the enigmatic Captain Nemo that makes this novel so successful. Many of the characters we meet in Verne's fiction are one-dimensional; while eccentric, a man like Professor Lidenbrock in Journey to the Centre of the Earth is easy to understand, seemingly driven by science and nothing else. In contrast, Captain Nemo is an incredibly complex man whom neither the reader nor the protagonist is ever really able to understand. He has forsaken all of humanity and retreated beneath the sea, yet he shows great compassion to his crewmen and to the poor on earth; he is generally self-absorbed and emotionless, yet we see glimpses of an emotional trauma that constantly afflicts him and is capable of destroying him. He has suffered a great loss at some point in his life, and his sorrow is matched only by a drive for vengeance against his unnamed oppressors. Captain Nemo is one of the most interesting, delightfully mysterious characters in all of literature.

As for the story, a naturalist, his assistant, and a harpooner join a party in search of a giant sea creature which has attacked a couple of ships. They are knocked overboard and find themselves saved by the monster, which turns out to be a submarine manned by a mysterious crew of sailors. Captain Nemo requires them to stay on board the Nautilus permanently because he wants to keep the existence of his submarine a secret from the world. The three men sail on the Nautilus for ten months, exploring the world's oceans and seas. They marvel at the animal life under the waves; explore underground forests, oyster beds, deep trenches; gaze with somber eyes at great numbers of sunken vessels; fight off giant squids and dangerous sharks; cast their eyes upon the sunken continent of Atlantis; and burrow underneath the polar ice caps to emerge at the South Pole. All the while, they hope to escape and return to their homelands, although the naturalist hesitates to leave his traveling laboratory until such a time as Captain Nemo's emotions become dangerously unbalanced.

All in all, this is an incredibly rich, fascinating novel with a poignant yet powerful conclusion. Contemporary readers must have been overpowered by Verne's descriptions of this unknown sailing vessel and the exploits the sub was capable of. That magical element is missing from modern reader's reactions, but this does little to hinder the overall effect of the story. There is one negative aspect to the book--the naturalist and his assistant go out of their way to name and catalogue virtually every animal, mineral, and plant they discover. This is interesting to a point, but the plot often finds itself bogged down for a couple of pages while the reader is bombarded with a veritable encyclopedia of scientific names which are virtually unpronounceable and largely meaningless to his/her ears. These interludes are the only things slowing down the story, however. It is a joy to read the adventures these men have under the sea, and it is even more fascinating to ponder the mind of Captain Nemo. Even the unseen depths of the sea cannot offer the reader a mystery as deep and powerful as that of the Nautilus' exceptional captain.

M. Arronax and his two companions, Ned Land and Conceil, are taken captive on board the Nautalis. They see many magnificent sites. These sites include the lost contanent of Atlantis, huge clams and pearls, sunken ships, the inside of a volcano, and much more.They also hve many adventures. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes sci-fi and adventure stories. I do recommend reading it when you are in high school. Read it and Check it out!

This is actually my favorite book of all time next to Ivanhoe, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The War of the Worlds. I read this book in fourth grade and absolutely loved it. Now that I'm 3 years older, I appreciate it even more. Though there were some hard words, I loved the dialogue. There is even humor when Professor Aronnax explains how pearls are made and says, "Yes, my boy, oysters can produce many sharks" because he is scared to go shark hunting. Captain Nemo is a mysterious yet interesting character. My favorite parts are when they are at the sunken ship in the Mediterranean Sea, when they fight the giant squid, and when they are at Ceylon. Some of their other travels take them to the lost continent of Atlantis, a tunnel under the Suez Canal, and through the Great Ice Barrier. This is my favorite Jules Verne book, though it has some competition from Around the Moon and Journey to the Center of the Earth. This book is a must-have for science lovers. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure and the ocean. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.