Will Eccentric by Jules Verne (44 results)

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Condition: Very Good. Softcover with slight wear noted to corners. Pages clean and bright. The year is 1897 and eccentric millionaire William J. Hypperbone has died! The terms of his will dictate 6 players be randomly chosen to compete for the $60 million inheritance. To win they have to play his favorite board game "The Noble Game of the Goose" but on a much grander scale-a race around the country in "The Noble game of The United States" Never published in the US in his lifetime.…

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Condition: New.

Condition: New.

Condition: New.

Condition: New.

Paperback. Condition: New. Modern ed.

Condition: New.

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Condition: New.

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Condition: As New. Unread book in perfect condition.

Condition: New.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware - Seven contestants. One eccentric millionaire's fortune. And a cross-country race determined by dice rolls and game rules.Chicago millionaire William J. Hypperbone dies leaving an unusual will: instead of conventional inheritance, seven contestants from diverse backgrounds must compete in a real-world version of a board game-traveling across the United States visiting cities determined by dice rolls, accumulating points according to elaborate rules, racing to complete the circuit and claim the fortune.Jules Verne wrote The Will of an Eccentric in 1900, five years before his death, attempting to combine American travelogue with game-based narrative structure and social satire. The premise is inventive-inheritance as literal game, American geography as game board, fortune depending on dice rather than merit.Yet the execution reveals creative exhaustion that marked his final years. The characterization is perfunctory (contestants defined by backgrounds and strategies, without psychological depth). The game mechanics quickly become tedious (chapters consist of dice rolls determining movement, feeling arbitrary rather than dramatically meaningful). The plotting is mechanical and repetitive (contestants land in location, Verne describes it, minor incident occurs, next dice roll moves them elsewhere). The understanding of American geography and society is superficial, derived from European sources rather than observation.The social satire the premise suggests-commentary on wealth, inheritance, chance versus merit-remains disappointingly lightweight. Verne never fully exploits the satirical potential of reducing inheritance to game of chance or making fortune dependent on dice rolls rather than work or virtue.Contemporary critics found the premise clever while recognizing the execution as tired work from an aging writer. Modern readers will find the game mechanics monotonous, the characterization thin, and the travelogue outdated and superficial.From the author of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea-an inventive premise undermined by creative exhaustion, showing how structural cleverness cannot compensate for absent imaginative vision.…

Condition: New. Print on Demand.

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Condition: New. Print on Demand.

Paperback. Condition: New. Modern ed.

PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000.

PF. Condition: New. This item is printed on demand. Brand new book, sourced directly from publisher. Dispatch time is 6-7 days from our warehouse. Book will be sent in robust, secure packaging to ensure it reaches you securely.

PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Delivered from our UK warehouse in 4 to 14 business days. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000.

Pictorial Cover. Condition: Good. Reprint. v, 408 pages, folding frontispiece, 19 b/w plates by Roux. Cheap edition. Lacks front flyleaf and half-title page, old bookplate on front endpaper, rear cover mottled. Roux (illustrator).

Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. With a folding frontis and nineteen full page black and white illustrations. Replaced front end paper. Original red cloth boards with black and gilt illustrations and lettering on the boards and spine. Faded spine colour. Marks on the board. Damp staining on the upper section of the rear board slightly touching the top edges of the rear pages. Wear to the corners and shelf wear. Replaced front end paper with frontis illustration crudely attached and hinge is splitting. The frontis illustration has slight loss to the lower edge of the border. Toned contents in generally clean condition. Light foxing of the front and rear pages.…

Hardcover. Condition: Good. Early British edition in pale blue/green cloth pictorially decorated in gilt, black, red and peach on cover, publisher's device stamped in blind on rear, black endpapers. Fold-out frontispiece and 19 illustrations. Taves & Michaluk V004; Myers 60. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company (1900), 408 pages. Good; slightly shaken with sun bleached spine, 2" tear of cloth at along rear hinge at crown, some soiling, inscription on recto of f.f.e. …

Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 312 pages. 9.00x6.00x0.71 inches. This item is printed on demand.

PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Delivered from our UK warehouse in 4 to 14 business days. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000.

Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 246 pages. 9.00x6.00x0.56 inches. This item is printed on demand.