The Mysterious Island
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<P>At a time when Verne is making a comeback in the US as a mainstream literary figure, Wesleyan is pleased to publish a new translation of one of his best-known novels, The Mysterious Island. Although several editions under the same title are in print, most reproduce a bowdlerized nineteenth-century translation which changes the names of the characters, omits several important scenes, and ideologically censors Verne's original text.</P><P>The Mysterious Island was published in 1874, and it is one of Verne's longest novels. The plot depicts a group of men who have become castaways stranded on an island in the Pacific during the American Civil War. The novel describes their attempts not only to survive but also, with the aid of the scientific and technological know-how, to rebuild their world from the meager resources of the island. At the end, however, it is realized that Captain Nemo, from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, has secretly been helping the settlers. A marvelous adventure story, The Mysterious Island is also notable for its modern retelling of the utopian deserted-island myth, with repeated echoes of Robinson Crusoe and the Swiss Family Robinson. This Wesleyan edition features notes, appendices and an introduction by Verne scholar William Butcher, as well as reproductions of the illustrations from the original French edition.</P>
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THE WESLEYAN EARLY CLASSICS OF SCIENCE FICTION SERIES
GENERAL EDITOR:ARTHUR B. EVANS
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Fortunately, the pile of rocks which formed the Chimneys was sturdy. It was composed of enormous slabs of granite though a few, slightly off-balance, seemed to tremble at their base. Pencroff sensed this and, pressing his hand against the walls, felt the rapid vibrations. But he finally convinced himself, and rightly so, that there was nothing to fear and that his improvised retreat would not cave in. Nevertheless, he heard the clatter of the rocks which, detached from the summit of the plateau and uprooted by the swirling wind, fell on the beach. A few even rolled as far as the upper part of the Chimneys or broke into fragments when they fell straight down. Twice the sailor got up and crawled to the opening of the passageway to look outside. But these falling rocks did not constitute any danger and he returned to his place in front of the fire whose embers were sputtering under the cinders. Despite the furies of the storm, the roar of the tempest, and the thunder of the storm, Harbert was in a deep sleep. Even Pencroff finally closed his eyes in slumber, since a seaman’s life had accustomed him to such violent weather. Gideon Spilett alone was kept wide awake by his worries. He reproached himself for not having accompanied Neb. One could see that he too had not abandoned all hope and that he shared Harbert’s premonitions. His thoughts were concentrated on Neb. Why had Neb not returned? He tossed on his bed of sand hardly giving a thought to the battle of the elements. At times his eyes, heavy with fatigue, closed for an instant but some passing thought reopened them at once. The night advanced, however, and it must have been two o’clock in the morning when Pencroff, then in a deep sleep, was shaken vigorously.
“What is it?” he shouted, awakening and recollecting himself with the rapidity typical of seamen.
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