Customer Reviews

Works Of Jules Verne Library

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Thanks to the Kindle I recently purchased I've been rediscovering Jules Verne and this collection is a great collection and value however, having just begun reading through the collection from the beginning I'm made to think that this experience is analogous to the Journey to the Center of the Earth (which is later than I've read so far).

My analogy is that just as the rising temperature experienced by the adventurers in the journey to the center of the earth, the reader in this collection seems to experience increasing amounts of typographical errors as one proceeds "deeper" into the volume.

I'm hoping that there may reach a "limit" that is not passed before I get much further, or else the stories of which I have no knowledge or recollection will be unintelligible.

This omnibus from Avenel collects five of Jules Verne's most popular novels, and three stories from one of his first collections. These are all the earliest translations into English of his works, often appearing just months after the original French editions, containing many of the original illustrations. Oddly enough, the cover painting, although of Captain Nemo (a main character in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) is actually taken from an edition of The Mysterious Island which is not included in the omnibus.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a translation of Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers by Mercier Lewis (1873), illustrated by Alphonse de Neuville and Édouard Riou. It is 6th in the Voyages Extraordinaires series, preceded by In Search of the Castaways, and followed by Around the Moon.

A Journey to the Center of the Earth is an anonymous translation, first published in 1871 by Griffith and Farran, of Voyage au centre de la Terre, illustrated by Édouard Riou. It is 3rd in the Voyages Extraordinaires series, preceded by The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras, and followed by From the Earth to the Moon.

Around the World in 80 Days is a translation of Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours, by George Makepeace Towle (1872), illustrated by Alphonse-Marie de Neuville and Leon Benett. It is 11th in the Voyages Extraordinaires series, preceded by The Fur Country, and followed by The Mysterious Island.

From the Earth to the Moon is a translation of De la Terre à la Lune by Louis Mercier & Eleanor E. King (1873), illustrated by Henri de Montaut. It is 4th in the Voyages Extraordinaires series, preceded by A Journey to the Center of the Earth, and followed by The Children of Captain Grant (In Search of the Castaways).

Round the Moon is a translation of Autour de la Lune, by Louis Mercier & Eleanor E. King (1873), illustrated by Émile-Antoine Bayard and Alphonse-Marie de Neuville. It is a sequel to From the Earth to the Moon, and is 7th in the Voyages Extraordinaires series, preceded by Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, and followed by The Adventures of Three Englishmen and Three Russians in South Africa (Measuring a Meridian).

Three short stories are included from the collection, Dr. Ox's Experiment, and Other Stories, translated by George Makepeace Towle (1874), with various illustrators: Doctor Ox's Experiment (translation of Une fantaisie du docteur Ox); Master Zacharius (translation of Maître Zacharius); and A Drama in the Air (translation of Un drame dans les airs).

Although the illustrators are identified in the introduction to the omnibus, the translators are not, and I was able to identify the translations with the aid of the Internet and various web sites.

Years ago I read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, Around the Moon and Around the World in Eighty days. I missed Jules Verne's short stories, so I bought this book to read again and for our family library.

The book is nicely leather bound with fake gold edging and marker ribbon, plus interesting B/W pictures of some of the characters talked about. Its 820 pages of reading fun. Remember Jules Verne was a Frenchman who hated anything to do with war. His writings were done in the late 19 Century so some of his ideas like life and atmosphere on the moon have been proven false. Just go with the flow and don't try to analyze this book.

His Epic Twenty Thousand Leagues INMO was his best. Many of his ideas about submarines have come true. We see Captain Nemo , and crew of the submarine Nautilus sinking warships and taking on some shipwrecked people including a "harpooner". Classic underwater action.

Journey To The Center of the Earth was great too about an expedition to the center of the earth and back with a professor, his nephew and guide "Hans". Fantastic character development and plot. Of course this is SF as the Earth's interior is a solid core surrounded by molten magma. Again don't analyze it, just enjoy it.

From the Earth to the Moon takes place with the "Gun Club" president Barbicane ,super strong metal plate maker Nicholl and a Frenchman Michel Ardan an explorer. We see them shot out of titanic gun in Tampa town USA, enclosed in a projectile with 2 dogs and chickens to be set loose on the moon. They are looking for intelligent life on the moon and believe the moon has a partial atmosphere. Again wishful thinking. They are trapped in lunar orbit because of a passing meteor and later in Around the Moon are sent back to Earth by the explosion of another meteor. Great action and plot.

Around the World in 80 days was great with a reserved gentleman and man servant taking a 20,000 lb. bet they can go around the earth in 80 days. Phileas Fogg the gentleman is hounded by an English detective for bank robbery a crime he did not commit. Great characters and plot. Lots of action saving a beautiful woman and having to use many different kinds of transportation.

The 3 short stories were great as I read these for the first time. Doctor Ox's experiment is about subjecting a small peaceful town to large amounts of oxygen and seeing how aggressive people, animals and plants become. There is almost war with a small village.

Master Zacharious is about an old clock maker, who is dieing and his clocks failing. He wants to remain alive and who almost gives his daughter to the devil to do it. Excellent story.

A Drama in the Air is about a "Balloonist" who is almost killed by an unwanted passenger madman. Excellent.

This Works of Jules Verne is a classic by one of the worlds great writers who hated war. Remember just to go with the flow of the book and you will enjoy it. 5 stars

I love this book, it is very well written, the pages are a bit yellowed because of the age, but the book is still readable. :)