Lighthouse at the End of the World: The First English Translation of Verne's Original Manuscript (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) - Hardcover

Verne, Jules

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803246765 ISBN 13: 9780803246768

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 2007

Synopsis

At the extreme tip of South America, Staten Island has piercing Antarctic winds, lonely coasts assaulted by breakers, and sailors lost as their vessels smash on the dark rocks. Now that civilization dares to rule here, a lighthouse penetrates the last and wildest place of all. But Vasquez, the guardian of the sacred light, has not reckoned with the vicious, desperate Kongre gang, who murder his two friends and force him out into the wilderness. Alone, without resources, can he foil their cruel plans?

 

A gripping tale of passion and perseverance, Verne’s testament novel paints a compelling picture of intrigue and heroism, schemes and calamities. The master storyteller returns here to the theme of civilization against its two oldest enemies: pitiless nature and men's savagery.

About this title

About the Author

Jules Verne (1828–1905), the most translated author in the world, wrote The Meteor Hunt (Nebraska 2006). In this first-ever publication in English of Verne’s original manuscript, leading Verne scholar William Butcher not only translates magisterially but provides a full critical edition with penetrating literary analysis and revealing annotation. Amongst Butcher’s many publications are Jules Verne: The Definitive Biography and editions of Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas and Around the World in Eighty Days.

Reviews

Fans of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days may find this work from Verne (1828–1905) austere. In 1859, three sailors arrive on an isolated island to man a new lighthouse at the wreck-prone tippy tip of South America. They soon discover a band of egregious criminals, led by dangerous evildoer Kongre, who have been tricking ships into running aground, killing the survivors and taking the loot. When two lighthouse men go to assist a ship and are killed, serious trouble ensues. Characters are cardboard; the action slight, though violent; the plot simple; and the encounter between decency and evil on an island one-dimensional. Posthumously published in 1905, the book was translated into English in 1923, but this is the first English translation from Verne's original manuscript. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803246765
• ISBN 13: 9780803246768
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 210
• Editor: Butcher William