0100,0100,0100Jean-Michel, You raise the question of Verne's apparent reluctance to use Celtic i.e. gaelic, names. I think he was quite wise to do this...gaelic personal names are a minefield. I have a friend from the island of Harris (in the Hebrides) named Alan MacDonald who is gaelic-speaking. His name can be written in three ways! Informally, friends and family call him "Aillean Bàn Dòmhnallach". His name for legal purposes is written Aileen Dòmhnallach Mac Dhòhnaill. His patronymic is Ailean Mahudhaidh Eòghainn (Alan son of Murdo Ewen). He uses all three names depending on the context. So Verne would have had quite a headache using gaelic...even moreso as the four strands are different (Breton, Erse,Welsh and Scottish gaelic) though communication is possible between Breton and Welsh and between Erse and Scottish gaelic). Remember also that Nantes is right on the fringe of Brittany and I doubt if Verne heard Breton very commonly. Similarly, most of his travels in Scotland were not really in the gaelic-speaking heartlands of the Highlands and Islands...just a brief visit to Staffa apparently. As I understand it, although Verne sailed close to Ireland there is no documentary evidence that he landed there and would have met people with names pronounced in Erse. So I think he was wise to keep to English or anglicised names like Grant, Sinclair,Ferguson, Kennedy etc.It would certainly have helped proof-reading! Lets see if someone in the Forum has more knowledge than myself. Regards, Ian