Don't like the English? Try this Gentleman!

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Don't like the English? Try this Gentleman!

Postby Arneb » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:20 pm

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Jules Verne (1828 - 1905).

A French novelist who invented the modern "sciency" novel. He wrote such instant classicas "Around the World in 80 Days", "Five Weeks in a Balloon" "Two Years' Holdiays". I just finished reading "In Search of the Castaways (The Children of Captain Grant)" with son 1, telling the story of a valiant, honest, and generous if strict Scottish captain stranded on a distant Pacific Island and being rescued (after 1000 pages and a long voyage around the World) by a rich, valiant, honest and generous if strict Scotsman (Lord Glenarvan, of Malcolm Castle, Dumbarton) leading a group of other valiant, honest and generous Scotsmen with a French geographer sidekick who makes everyone laugh, in a good way. Of course, they visit many British colonies on their voyage and are frequently witness to the lowly English character and the evil deeds the English inflict on the poor Wild Men they conquer. They are also almost eaten by a bunch of Kiwi blokes, for good measure.

If you like to read endless landscape description and enjoy watching someone take a good dump on the English, he's your man.

He wrote another novel, "the 500 Million of the Begum", in which he does the same, only in a much more aggressive, belligerent, and poisonous way, against the Germans. But that was after 1871, so his bad mood is just about forgiveable. The son has ordered we do "The Voyage to the Moon" and "Around the Moon" next, in which the first expedition to the Moon is launched by rich, valiant, honest. generous, totally capitalist and endlessly self-assured Americans, with a humorous French sidekick thrown in for good measure. Remind you of anything? He even events the "Free Return" trajectory in the process.

I loved this stuff between, say 11 and 16, and it's a joy to re-live it with the son. Sometimes, it does get a bit boring - In Search of the Castaways is really a travel guide wrapped in a rather thin story. But I swear I got nothing of the political undertones in those years, and it's fun stuff to read, even if he is by no means a great writer. Give him a try one of these days. He's on Gutenberg, so no expensive-books type excuses.
Non sunt multiplicanda entia praeter necessitatem
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Re: Don't like the English? Try this Gentleman!

Postby Lianachan » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:29 pm

I've not read that, but have read quite a lot of his stuff more generally. When I was in Nantes, many years ago now, I even went here.
A-nis bidh fios aig daoine nuair a tha mi a 'mionnachadh aig dhaibh.
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Re: Don't like the English? Try this Gentleman!

Postby Enzo » Fri Jul 14, 2017 2:36 am

I liked Verne when I was growing up, read all the scifi ones and some others. And of course liked the movie interpretations, even if by Disney I liked adventurous stuff.

Other youthful reads were Robert Heinlein. I liked the Tom Swift series. I read some of the original, but they were dated, so I like the Tom Swift Junior series. I guess now there are Tom Swift III books. Young readers could do worse than those.

Oh, and Richard Halliburton's Book of Marvels, a 1930s travelogue.
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Re: Don't like the English? Try this Gentleman!

Postby Heid the Ba » Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:48 am

I don't think I have actually read any, though I have seen some of the films. I really should read at least one of them. I can understand him being a bit tetchy after 1871. :)
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Re: Don't like the English? Try this Gentleman!

Postby Enzo » Fri Jul 14, 2017 10:52 am

Not only read the books, but the comics too. I liked comic books as a kid, Superman, Uncle Scrooge, whatever. But there was a series titled Classic Comics, which were comic book versions of classic literature, including some Verne. Also called Classics Illustrated. Verne, Les Mis, Mutiny on the Bounty, Huck Finn, etc. You could read the story without reading a big old book.
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