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Re: genre "robinsonade"

From: James Keeline <keeline~at~yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 06:31:40 -0700 (PDT)
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>

--- Garmt de Vries <G.deVries~at~phys.uu.nl> wrote:

> Thomas asked if there was some connotation to the name Robinson, that
> would have been well-known in the 19th century, but not anymore today.
>
> My idea is that already in the 19th century, the name Robinson would only
> call to mind the theme of a man (or a family, or a group of kids or
> whatever) on an isolated island.
>
> It is possible that in Daniel Defoe's time the name had another meaning,
> but even if it had, in the 19th century that other meaning would probably
> be overshadowed by the island thing.
>
> I hope that's clearer?
>
> Garmt.


Daniel Defoe's book was first published in 1719 and is considered by some to be
 one of the first novels in the English language. Swiss Family Robinson is an
obvious homage which was first published nearly a century later in 1812-13.
The well-known English translation by W.H.G. Kingston appeared in 1879. As we
know, Kingston also translated some Verne stories.

The mid- to late-Nineteenth Century has many examples of Robinsonades and I
have several of them in my collection. In the early Twentieth Century there
was an eight-volume series by "Roger T. Finlay" (likely a pseudonym for James
Slough Zerbe) called the Wonder Island series which takes the genre to an
extreme. The stories are used as a vehicle to describe the technologies which
make their lives better on the island. They even go so far as minting coins.
The original editions published by New York Book Company are fairly attractive
for the early Twentieth Century.

This genre has always fascinated me in concept though I have not read nearly as
many examples as I should. I don't have all of Verne's examples yet.

James
_____


James D. Keeline
http://www.Keeline.com http://www.Keeline.com/articles
http://Stratemeyer.org http://www.Keeline.com/TSCollection

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Received on Fri 08 Jul 2005 - 16:31:49 IDT

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