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NOTE ON PREVIOUS TRANSLATIONS

The only translations of MI in print follow W. H. G. Kingston’s one published by Sampson Low in 1875, also available from many sites on the Internet. Much of this translation is, in my view, above average, for it provides an accurate and readable translation of most of Verne’s text, albeit in nineteenth-century English. What is unacceptable, though, is the way it changes the names (for example, “Harding” for Smith) and deletes some of the passages, such as criticism of British India or the phrase where Pencroff speaks of rewarding his crew with “a quarter liter of wine by watch!” (II, 13). It is unfair, however, to ascribe such censorship to the nationality of the author. After all, the (British and American) publishers are more likely to be guilty, and in any case passages describing the Americans as “illiterate … asses” are still deleted from present-day translations of From the Earth to the Moon (ch. 6), of whatever nationality.

The only other translation to date, Stephen W. White’s of 1876, with a simpler style but also more deletions, has apparently not been reprinted since, although nearly as good as Kingston’s. I. O. Evans’s 1959 Fitzroy and Lowell Bair’s 1970 Bantam editions derive directly from Kingston’s but are severely abridged versions. They thus seem to break the law in passing themselves off as authentic Verne, and have criminally contributed to Verne’s reputation in the English-speaking countries. The prize for ignoring the author’s rights, however, must go to the Bibliothèque verte edition of 1963, which cuts five-sixths of the text.

Further information about previous editions appears below, with the approximate length provided to indicate the degree of abridgement. The French text contains about 199,000 words.¹

1. The Mysterious Island [Dropped from the Clouds, The Abandoned, The Secret of the Island] (London: Sampson Low, trans. W. H. G. Kingston, 1875)² about 195,000 words—notable reprints: (a) New York: Vincent Parke (vols. 5–6), 1911 (b) New York: Scribner, 1918 (c) New York: Signet Classics, 1986.³

2. Mysterious Island (Warburton, 1876 [original printing: Philadelphia: The Evening Telegraph, 1876], trans. Stephen W. White) about 175,000 words.⁴

3. The Mysterious Island [Dropped from the Clouds, Marooned, Secret of the Island (in 2 vols.)] (1959, Hanison/Associated, Fitzroy Edition, trans. erroneously indicated as I. O. Evans) about 90,000 words.⁵

4. The Mysterious Island (1970, Bantam, abridged by Lowell Bair, erroneously indicated as trans.) about 90,000 words.⁶

As the present volume went to print, confirmation was received of the publication of Random House Modern Library of a new translation of MI by Jordan Stump, due to appear in 2002. Although omitting the majority of Verne’s illustrations, the translation itself is excellent. (The opening words are: “‘Are we rising?’ / “‘No! Quite the reverse! We’re sinking!’ / “‘Worse than that, Mr. Cyrus! We’re falling!’ / “‘For the love of God! Drop some ballast!’”) The introduction is, however, superficial, generally ignoring the genesis of MI and the French literary context.

NOTES

1. Most of the information in this section was provided by Arthur B. Evans, to whom grateful thanks are recorded.

2. Apparently reproducing earlier serial publication as follows: The Mysterious Island (1874–75, Sampson Low in St. James Magazine, trans. not indicated) and Mysterious Island (Part I: Wrecked in the Air; “Smith” rather than “Harding,” 1874–75, Scribner in Scribner’s Monthly Magazine, trans. not indicated).

3. The opening words are: “‘Are we going up again?’ / “‘No! On the Contrary—’ / “‘Are we descending?’ / “‘Worse than that, captain! we are falling.’ / “‘For Heaven’s sake heave out the ballast!’”

4. “‘Are we going up again?’ / “‘No. On the contrary; we are going down!’ / “‘Worse that that, Mr. Smith, we are falling!’ / “‘For God’s sake throw over all the ballast!’”

5. “‘Are we rising again?’ / “‘No. On the contrary.’ / “‘Are we descending?’ / “‘Worse than that, captain; we are falling!’ / “‘For heaven’s sake heave out the ballast!’”

6. “‘Are we rising?’ / “‘No, we’re sinking.’ / “‘It’s worse than that, Cyrus; we’re falling!’ / “‘For God’s sake, throw out some ballast!’”