berc
Administrator
Posts: 44
|
Post by berc on Aug 21, 2024 13:26:13 GMT
Hello Everyone,
Before I start reading a Jules Verne book, I always ask A.I. if there are any sequels or related works. However, it never gives a straight answer and sometimes even provides incorrect information.
Is there a website that lists all the connections?
Best,
Berc
|
|
|
Post by farseer on Aug 21, 2024 14:21:33 GMT
I gave an answer to this elsewhere, but I might as well copy what I wrote in case it's useful for someone else:
Regarding the reading order, most of Verne's works are standalones, with the following exceptions:
* Around The Moon (1870) continues the story told in From the Earth to the Moon (1865). It's a direct sequel, starting exactly where the first novel finishes. In fact, we only consider them as two different novels because they were originally published that way, but it would make sense to think of them as a single novel in two volumes. There is a third novel, The Purchase of the North Pole, aka Topsy-Turvy (1889), with most of the same characters, although it's a separate, standalone story.
* The Mysterious Island (1875) is a standalone sequel to In Search of the Castaways (1868) and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870). It's a sequel only in a very loose way. A couple of characters from those previous novels make appearances in The Mysterious Island. Each of the three novels is a different story and can be read independently, but The Mysterious Island serves to close these characters' arcs. Therefore, if you are going to read all of them, it makes sense to read The Mysterious Island after the others. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and In Search of the Castaways are fully independent from each other, so it does not make much difference which you read first. Taken together, these three novels offer one of the greatest experiences that classic adventure fiction can offer.
* Master of the World (1904) is a sequel to Robur the Conqueror (1886). Although Master of the World is a different story, if you are going to read both it would make sense to read them in chronological order, to see the evolution of the character. In any case, in Master of the World, Verne gives a summary of the previous story for background information, when it becomes relevant.
* An Antarctic Mystery, aka The Sphinx of the Ice Realm (1897) is a sequel to Edgar Allan Poe's novel The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) (link). You do not need to read Poe's novel to understand this one, since Verne gives you all the information you need, including a detailed summary when it becomes relevant. However, Poe's novel is worth reading anyway.
* The Castaways of the Flag, aka Second Fatherland (1900) is a sequel to Johann Wyss' novel The Swiss Family Robinson (1812) (link). Again, you do not need to read Wyss' novel to understand this one, since Verne gives you all the information you need, including a detailed summary when it becomes relevant.
|
|
|
Post by farseer on Aug 21, 2024 14:23:50 GMT
Apart from what I mentioned above, Verne's books are standalones. The only thing that comes to mind beyond that is that in Robur the Conqueror, there is a brief, passing reference to events that happened in The Begum's Millions. But it's very casual, just an Easter egg which is nice if you notice it, but not really something that needs to influence the reading order.
|
|
berc
Administrator
Posts: 44
|
Post by berc on Aug 21, 2024 14:26:26 GMT
Yeah, it was in Reddit. I didn’t delete this thread because I didn’t want to mess up any hidden notifications. Anyway, thank you again!
|
|
|
Post by farseer on Aug 21, 2024 14:37:22 GMT
Yeah, it was in Reddit. I didn’t delete this thread because I didn’t want to mess up any hidden notifications. Anyway, thank you again! One problem with reddit is that individual posts are quickly buried, as the site is designed to show you the most recent content. In a forum it's easier to revive a post, since just by as wearing you bring the topic to the top. Well, anyway, I found it curious that when Verne writes a sequel he tends to include a summary of the previous novel. I mean, not a separate summary before the sequel novel begins, but inside the sequel novel itself. It's quite convenient if you don't have the previous book.
|
|
berc
Administrator
Posts: 44
|
Post by berc on Aug 21, 2024 14:50:08 GMT
Yeah, it was in Reddit. I didn’t delete this thread because I didn’t want to mess up any hidden notifications. Anyway, thank you again! One problem with reddit is that individual posts are quickly buried, as the site is designed to show you the most recent content. In a forum it's easier to revive a post, since just by as wearing you bring the topic to the top. Well, anyway, I found it curious that when Verne writes a sequel he tends to include a summary of the previous novel. I mean, not a separate summary before the sequel novel begins, but inside the sequel novel itself. It's quite convenient if you don't have the previous book. Exactly! That is the main reason why I created a new one here. One of my first Verne books was 'The Mysterious Island,' and I didn’t know it was the last part of a trilogy, so it was quite frustrating.
|
|
|
Post by farseer on Aug 21, 2024 14:53:40 GMT
One of my first Verne books was 'The Mysterious Island,' and I didn’t know it was the last part of a trilogy, so it was quite frustrating. Well, I mean, it's not 'really' the last part of a trilogy, except in a very loose sense. I'm sure you got a complete story from it. You were just missing a bit of background on two characters who appear for part of the novel, but you can enjoy The Mysterious Island as a standalone...
|
|
berc
Administrator
Posts: 44
|
Post by berc on Aug 21, 2024 15:00:45 GMT
One of my first Verne books was 'The Mysterious Island,' and I didn’t know it was the last part of a trilogy, so it was quite frustrating. Well, I mean, it's not 'really' the last part of a trilogy, except in a very loose sense. I'm sure you got a complete story from it. You were just missing a bit of background on two characters who appear for part of the novel, but you can enjoy The Mysterious Island as a standalone... At that time, I didn't know that it only had a loose connection to the other books, so I was a little bit annoyed. Later, it turned out that it wasn't that big deal.
|
|
|
Post by farseer on Aug 21, 2024 15:10:06 GMT
At that time, I didn't know that it only had a loose connection to the other books, so I was a little bit annoyed. Later, it turned out that it wasn't that big deal. The connection with In Search of the Castaways is a bit more important than the one with 20.00 Leagues Under the Sea, I think, because The Mysterious Island closes a loose end that had been left open at the end of In Search of the Castaways (the ultimate fate of one character). But, totally, you can enjoy Mysterious Island on its own.
|
|
|
Post by phileasfogg on Aug 21, 2024 20:28:14 GMT
At that time, I didn't know that it only had a loose connection to the other books, so I was a little bit annoyed. Later, it turned out that it wasn't that big deal. The connection with In Search of the Castaways is a bit more important than the one with 20.00 Leagues Under the Sea, I think, because The Mysterious Island closes a loose end that had been left open at the end of In Search of the Castaways (the ultimate fate of one character). But, totally, you can enjoy Mysterious Island on its own. Yes, I would agree with this, although I read The Mysterious Island before In Search of the Castaways and I don't think I missed out on too much, but I did think it was interesting to see how different Ayrton's personality was in the two different books.
|
|
|
Post by farseer on Aug 22, 2024 0:10:13 GMT
Yes, I would agree with this, although I read The Mysterious Island before In Search of the Castaways and I don't think I missed out on too much, but I did think it was interesting to see how different Ayrton's personality was in the two different books. (Spoilers for In Search of the Castaways and The Mysterious Island) At the end of In Search of the Castaways, instead of delivering Ayrton to the authorities (who would have executed him), Lord Glenarvan & company decide to abandon him on a desert island. The novel ends without us knowing Ayrton's ultimate fate, until in The Mysterious Island we meet him again, and it turns out that in all the years of isolation he had repented of his crimes and become a different person. We also see that Lord Glenarvan had not forgotten him and came to search for him years later. It's a hopeful and humanistic message that even someone with a past like Ayrton's can find redemption both in his own soul and in the eyes of the rest of humankind. It closes the narrative arc of In Search of the Castaways very nicely.
|
|