Post by farseer on Aug 26, 2024 13:46:17 GMT
Have you guys read any of the posthumous extraordinary voyages? Do you have an opinion on Michel Verne's work?
Some background:
After Jules Verne's death in 1905, new Extraordinary Voyages kept being published for a few years, making a total of 8 novels published after Verne's death:
(55) Le Phare du bout du monde (The Lighthouse at the End of the World, 1905) (1 volume)
(56) Le Volcan d’or (The Golden Volcano, 1906) (2 volumes)
(57) L’Agence Thompson and Co (The Thompson Travel Agency, 1907) (2 volumes)
(58) La Chasse au météore (The Chase of the Golden Meteor, 1908) (1 volume)
(59) Le Pilote du Danube (The Danube Pilot, 1908) (1 volume)
(60) Les Naufragés du "Jonathan" (The Survivors of the "Jonathan", 1909) (2 volumes)
(61) Le Secret de Wilhelm Storitz (The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz, 1910) (1 volume)
(62) L’Étonnante Aventure de la mission Barsac (The Barsac Mission, 1919) (2 volumes)
They were in theory novels that Jules Verne had written but they hadn't gone through the whole editorial process at the time of his death, and they were accepted without difficulty as that.
However, during the last part of the 20th century, researchers found the correspondence between Jules Verne and later his son Michel, and the Hetzels (the editors Pierre-Jules Hetzel and, after his death, his son Louis-Jules Hetzel). Then it became known the important role that Pierre-Jules Hetzel had had in guiding Verne's career, and we also found out that the posthumous novels had been edited, and in some cases substantially modified, by Michel Verne, to get them ready for publication.
In the last few years of Jules Verne's life, his eyesight and physical strength were failing, and Michel began working for him (as secretary-scribe-typist). After Jules' death, Michel, with the agreement of Louis-Jules Hetzel, worked into getting his father's remaining manuscripts ready for publication. Once the original Jules Verne manuscripts were found and compared with the final versions, scholars realized that Michel's role had been important. In some cases he only made slight modifications. in others he greatly expanded upon his father's manuscripts (and in one case he might have written the whole novel):
The Lighthouse at the End of the World -> This was almost ready for publication when Jules Verne died, and the edits that Michel did are slight, so the published version is very similar to Jules' manuscript. The only relevant change he made is adding one action scene.
The Golden Volcano -> Here Michel's changes were more controversial, since he changed Jules' ending, undermining the message that his father had intended. Indeed, Jules Verne had been very wary of the greed associated with the gold rushes, and had intended this novel as a cautionary tale, where the characters did not profit despite their efforts and suffering. Michel added a romantic subplot and changed the ending to a more conventional happy ending.
The Thompson Travel Agency -> This is a special case among these posthumous novels because no Jules Verne manuscript was found. This has led investigators to conclude that this novel might be exclusively the work of Michel Verne. Although, I guess, not being there, we cannot be completely sure of what went on.
The Chase of the Golden Meteor -> Unlike in The Golden Volcano, here Michel did not modify his father's denunciation of greed. Michel left his father's story mostly intact, and his contribution was introducing the character Zéphyrin Xirdal, the extremely eccentric but brilliant French inventor who tries to bring the meteor to Earth (in Jules' manuscript the meteor fell on its own).
The Danube Pilot -> Here Michel expanded and gave more weight to the storyline about the gang of criminals, sacrificing most of the geographical descriptions in his father's manuscript and its more relaxed, humorous tone. That way, Michel changed the quiet, humorous travelogue into a dark detective story with action and plot twists.
The Survivors of the "Jonathan" -> Jules Verne's manuscript (which has been published with the title "Magellania"), is half the length and supplies little detail, sometimes giving an outline like a history book and only developing the character of Kaw-djer. Michel fleshed out the story and introduced many characters. With Michel's changes, this becomes an adventure novel in Verne's usual style, but the political content remained.
The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz -> Here Michel made fewer changes. He just changed the timeframe, taking the story to the 18th century, and made a small modification to the ending, making it happier.
The Barsac Mission -> A lot of this one is Michel's work. Jules wrote the first few chapters, and he also wrote a short story that Michel adapted to help create the rest of the story, but most of the writing is by Michel.
The versions I have are the ones that were published as part of the Extraordinary Voyages, including Michel's modifications. Nowadays, the original versions without Michel's modifications have also been published, but they are more difficult to find than the originally published versions. You have to look for them specifically. For the posthumous novels, if your edition doesn't explicitly say that it's the unmodified Jules Verne version, you can assume that you are reading the version edited by Michel, which after all is the one that was published originally.
Since the original Jules Verne manuscripts have been published, people can read both and compare if they want. Opinions among Verne fans are divided regarding Michel's modifications: Some think that they are an artistic betrayal, in some cases even going against Jules' intentions (see for example the changed ending of "The Golden Volcano"). Others think that Michel was a decent writer who came along at the right moment, as the posthumous manuscripts were slow and lacking in action, and Michel's changes made the plots more entertaining and adventurous. One also has to remember that these posthumous manuscripts had not been submitted for publication yet, so Jules would have edited or modified them himself if he had lived (he often made modifications following suggestions from his editor).
In any case, I care more about entertaining stories than about artistic purity, so am happy with Michel's changes. However, the original manuscripts are very interesting from a scholarly point of view.
I actually think that Michel was a very decent writer himself, and on average I like the posthumous novels more than the last few novels Jules published before his death (in some of them you can notice his decline). These last novels deserve their place in the series, in my opinion. It's a pity Michel did not keep writing later under his own name.
Some background:
After Jules Verne's death in 1905, new Extraordinary Voyages kept being published for a few years, making a total of 8 novels published after Verne's death:
(55) Le Phare du bout du monde (The Lighthouse at the End of the World, 1905) (1 volume)
(56) Le Volcan d’or (The Golden Volcano, 1906) (2 volumes)
(57) L’Agence Thompson and Co (The Thompson Travel Agency, 1907) (2 volumes)
(58) La Chasse au météore (The Chase of the Golden Meteor, 1908) (1 volume)
(59) Le Pilote du Danube (The Danube Pilot, 1908) (1 volume)
(60) Les Naufragés du "Jonathan" (The Survivors of the "Jonathan", 1909) (2 volumes)
(61) Le Secret de Wilhelm Storitz (The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz, 1910) (1 volume)
(62) L’Étonnante Aventure de la mission Barsac (The Barsac Mission, 1919) (2 volumes)
They were in theory novels that Jules Verne had written but they hadn't gone through the whole editorial process at the time of his death, and they were accepted without difficulty as that.
However, during the last part of the 20th century, researchers found the correspondence between Jules Verne and later his son Michel, and the Hetzels (the editors Pierre-Jules Hetzel and, after his death, his son Louis-Jules Hetzel). Then it became known the important role that Pierre-Jules Hetzel had had in guiding Verne's career, and we also found out that the posthumous novels had been edited, and in some cases substantially modified, by Michel Verne, to get them ready for publication.
In the last few years of Jules Verne's life, his eyesight and physical strength were failing, and Michel began working for him (as secretary-scribe-typist). After Jules' death, Michel, with the agreement of Louis-Jules Hetzel, worked into getting his father's remaining manuscripts ready for publication. Once the original Jules Verne manuscripts were found and compared with the final versions, scholars realized that Michel's role had been important. In some cases he only made slight modifications. in others he greatly expanded upon his father's manuscripts (and in one case he might have written the whole novel):
The Lighthouse at the End of the World -> This was almost ready for publication when Jules Verne died, and the edits that Michel did are slight, so the published version is very similar to Jules' manuscript. The only relevant change he made is adding one action scene.
The Golden Volcano -> Here Michel's changes were more controversial, since he changed Jules' ending, undermining the message that his father had intended. Indeed, Jules Verne had been very wary of the greed associated with the gold rushes, and had intended this novel as a cautionary tale, where the characters did not profit despite their efforts and suffering. Michel added a romantic subplot and changed the ending to a more conventional happy ending.
The Thompson Travel Agency -> This is a special case among these posthumous novels because no Jules Verne manuscript was found. This has led investigators to conclude that this novel might be exclusively the work of Michel Verne. Although, I guess, not being there, we cannot be completely sure of what went on.
The Chase of the Golden Meteor -> Unlike in The Golden Volcano, here Michel did not modify his father's denunciation of greed. Michel left his father's story mostly intact, and his contribution was introducing the character Zéphyrin Xirdal, the extremely eccentric but brilliant French inventor who tries to bring the meteor to Earth (in Jules' manuscript the meteor fell on its own).
The Danube Pilot -> Here Michel expanded and gave more weight to the storyline about the gang of criminals, sacrificing most of the geographical descriptions in his father's manuscript and its more relaxed, humorous tone. That way, Michel changed the quiet, humorous travelogue into a dark detective story with action and plot twists.
The Survivors of the "Jonathan" -> Jules Verne's manuscript (which has been published with the title "Magellania"), is half the length and supplies little detail, sometimes giving an outline like a history book and only developing the character of Kaw-djer. Michel fleshed out the story and introduced many characters. With Michel's changes, this becomes an adventure novel in Verne's usual style, but the political content remained.
The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz -> Here Michel made fewer changes. He just changed the timeframe, taking the story to the 18th century, and made a small modification to the ending, making it happier.
The Barsac Mission -> A lot of this one is Michel's work. Jules wrote the first few chapters, and he also wrote a short story that Michel adapted to help create the rest of the story, but most of the writing is by Michel.
The versions I have are the ones that were published as part of the Extraordinary Voyages, including Michel's modifications. Nowadays, the original versions without Michel's modifications have also been published, but they are more difficult to find than the originally published versions. You have to look for them specifically. For the posthumous novels, if your edition doesn't explicitly say that it's the unmodified Jules Verne version, you can assume that you are reading the version edited by Michel, which after all is the one that was published originally.
Since the original Jules Verne manuscripts have been published, people can read both and compare if they want. Opinions among Verne fans are divided regarding Michel's modifications: Some think that they are an artistic betrayal, in some cases even going against Jules' intentions (see for example the changed ending of "The Golden Volcano"). Others think that Michel was a decent writer who came along at the right moment, as the posthumous manuscripts were slow and lacking in action, and Michel's changes made the plots more entertaining and adventurous. One also has to remember that these posthumous manuscripts had not been submitted for publication yet, so Jules would have edited or modified them himself if he had lived (he often made modifications following suggestions from his editor).
In any case, I care more about entertaining stories than about artistic purity, so am happy with Michel's changes. However, the original manuscripts are very interesting from a scholarly point of view.
I actually think that Michel was a very decent writer himself, and on average I like the posthumous novels more than the last few novels Jules published before his death (in some of them you can notice his decline). These last novels deserve their place in the series, in my opinion. It's a pity Michel did not keep writing later under his own name.
