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Re: Lottman

From: Jean-Pierre Boutin <boutin~at~versailles.inra.fr>
Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2005 11:35:47 +0100
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

Cheer Art, your analysis of the biography of JV by Lottman is luminous.
This biography is, like those written previously by Charles-Noël Martin
and Olivier Dumas (and Marc Soriano to a certain extent),
nonhagiographic and very exact from the factual point of view but
disputed (and contestable ...) regarding certain interpretations
highlighting and exaggerating negative aspects of the personality of
JV. One can agree or not with the conclusions of this author but the
value of its work is undeniable.
Jean-Pierre

Le dimanche, 30 jan 2005, à 20:37 Europe/Paris, Art Evans a écrit :

> Dear Walter,
> Lottman's biography has received very mixed reviews from most
> Vernians.  "Fair" and "thoughtful" are not the adjectives most of them
> would use in describing this book.  For example, here is an excerpt of
> what I said in a 1997 book review (I don't recall where it was
> published):
> Lottman is both meticulous in his research and dependably
> authoritative in his rendering of the sometimes shadowy details of
> Verne's life. Thus, in terms of its factual accuracy, Jules Verne: An
> Exploratory Biography far surpasses the two
> previously-available biographies on Jules Verne written by Marguerite
> Allotte de la Fuye and Jean Jules-Verne. As such, it will probably
> become the standard biographical reference for all future scholarship
> on Verne.
>
> But be forewarned. Lottman's approach resembles that of the medical
> examiner who dissects his subject on the operating table, believing
> that the sum of the parts is equivalent to the whole. Following a
> fairly comprehensive perusal of the existing French scholarship on the
> topic (almost no Anglo-American studies of Verne were used) and after
> lengthy consultations with Dr. Olivier Dumas (medical doctor,
> President of the Société Jules Verne, and himself the author of a
> controversial Verne biography repeatedly quoted in this book), Lottman
> goes on to reconstruct the "real'' Jules Verne from a methodical
> examination of all of Verne's letters, publishing contracts,
> interviews, court records, eyewitness accounts, family remembrances,
> and other historical documents from the Verne archives and the
> BibliothPque Nationale.
>
> In so doing, Lottman succeeds in sweeping away many of the
> popular myths surrounding this celebrated "Father of Science
> Fiction.'' But he also tends to dwell disproportionately upon Verne's
> "dark side'': the author's brooding obsessions, various
> gastro-intestinal ailments, supposed latent homosexuality, unrepentent
> anti-Semitism, reputed marital infidelities, less-than-admirable
> parenting skills, and so forth. Granted, these sometimes sordid
> aspects of Verne's private life are, and should be, fair game for a
> conscientious biographer. But, inexplicably, Lottman chooses to
> downplay that most salient feature of Verne's life: his writings. This
> biography never really addresses the incredibly rich content of
> Verne's works, their innovative place in the history of speculative
> fiction, or their crucial influence on the developing genre of science
> fiction. Reduced to plot summaries, sales figures, and author
> royalites, the individual works of Verne's Voyages Extraordinaires are
> treated as little more than periodic benchmarks in the chronology of
> the author's biological existence.
>
> Let me be quite clear about this. It is the man who is the topic of
> Jules Verne: An Exploratory Biography, not the author. It is his
> character and daily habits that are scrutinized, not his imagination
> or literary production. Lottman's book is a psychological and
> sociological analysis of Jules Verne's personal life, not an
> assessment of his contributions to world literature.
>
> Amitiés,
> Art
>  
>
>  
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Walter J Miller
> To: Jules Verne Forum
> Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2005 6:24 AM
> Subject: Re: Verne in retirement
>
>
>
> Does anyone else have reason to call Lottman "infamous"?  I thought
> his bio was fair and thoughtful.  Any comments will be appreciated. 
> Cheers!  Walter James Miller----- Original Message -----
>
>
>
> From: Jan Rychlík <jan.rychlik~at~seznam.cz>
>
>
>
> Date: Saturday, January 29, 2005 11:24 am
>
>
>
> Subject: Re: Verne in retirement
>
>
>
>
>
> > Dear Ian,
> >
> > The infamous Herbert Lottman used the retirement letter as a
> > further "possible evidence" of Verne's avarice, this time
> > unwillingness to pay membership fees. Lottman writes (Chpt. 38)
> > that Verne also ended his membership in another societies then,
> > but at the same time became a founding member of anti-Deyfuss
> > Patriot League.
> >
> > But I didn't intend to write about Lottman inasmuch, rather to ask
> > you whether you looked also for Verne's 1868 speech before the
> > Société de Géographie de Paris reviewing the book "Histoire de la
> > Guerre civile, 1861-1865" by Cortambert and Tranaltos?
> >
> > Sincerely
> >
> > Jan Rychlik
> > ____________________________________________________________
> > http://www.seznam.cz - e-mailová schránka 1000 MB
> >
> >
>
Received on Mon 31 Jan 2005 - 12:35:57 IST

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