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Re: genre "robinsonade"

From: Brian Taves <btav~at~loc.gov>
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 19:12:06 -0400 (EDT)
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>

I'd suggest checking Martin Green's *The Robinson Crusoe Story*, which
includes a long chapter on Mysterious Island. Some 20 years ago, while
Prof Green was writing the book, I wrote a conference paper for a Modern
Language Association panel he organized on the Robinsonade. A few years
later I gave the paper again at the first meeting of the North American
Jules Verne Society, and integrated the ideas into my introductory chapter
in *The Jules Verne Encyclopedia*. I argued that all of the
aforementioned examples in this discussion were part of the genre, as well
as A Winter Amid the Ice and The Fur Country. Other stories, like The
Children of Captain Grant and Mistress Branican, are Robinsonades told
from the viewpoint of the rescuers. The theme also resonates in A
15-Year-Old Captain, Spinx of Ice, The Chancellor, The Lighthouse at the
End of the World, and Propellor Island.

Castaway-shipwreck themes pervade Verne's oeuvre. Robinsonades can indeed
be futuristic (Eternal Adam) or set in outer space (Servadac), and I think
this is well established in popular culture: "Danger, Danger, Will
Robinson!"

Brian Taves
Motion Picture/Broadcasting/Recorded Sound Division
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20540-4692
Telephone: 202-707-9930; 202-707-2371 (fax)
Email: btav~at~loc.gov


Disclaimer--All opinions expressed are my own.



On Sat, 9 Jul 2005, [iso-8859-2] Jan Rychlík wrote:

> > Only twice did Jules Verne write a preface to a Voyage Extraordinaire, and
> > both times the VE was a Robinsonade (2 ans, 2e patrie). He was clearly
> > very fond of the genre.
> >
> > Garmt.
>
> In 2 ans Verne mentions Cooper's "Crater" as a robinsonade featuring a
> whole community of robinsons. And In Magellanie was inspired by this
> book, so perhaps it should be considered a robinsonade also.
>
> And don't you think that Hector Servadac is, in fact, a robinsonade too?
>
> Sincerely
>
> Jan Rychlik
>
 
On Fri, 8 Jul 2005, James Keeline wrote:
                                                                           
> 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.
                                                                           
l'Ile mysterieuse, L'Ecole des Robinsons, Deux Ans de Vacances and Seconde
Patrie are all in Zvi's Virtual Library (some in French only though). You
could argue that En Magellanie/Les Naufrages du Jonathan is a Robinsonade
too, but I think that's stretching it a bit.
Received on Tue 12 Jul 2005 - 02:12:24 IDT

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