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Re: Who have read "Neptunia No.237?" - Les Frères K

From: Jean-Michel Margot <jmmargot~at~mindspring.com>
Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2005 17:22:02 -0400
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>

Bernhard Krauth wrote:

>
>> Dear Jan,
>>
>> thank you for pointing me towards these informations which I didn't
>> had in
>> mind. Anyhow the article in the "Neptunia" is giving a couple of
>> interesting
>> details about the Degrave - story, which I got confirmed also by Jean -
>> Michel Margot meanwhile...
>>
>> Kindest regards
>>
>> Bernhard
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> mail from:
>>
>> Bernhard Krauth
>>
>> have a look at:
>>
>> www.jules-verne-club.de
>>
>> www.bernhard-krauth.de
>>
>> www.bremerhavenpilot.de
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jan Rychlík" <jan.rychlik~at~seznam.cz>
>> To: "Jules Verne Forum" <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>
>> Sent: Monday, July 18, 2005 10:03 PM
>> Subject: Re:Who have read "Neptunia No.237?"
>>
>>
>>>> The article is presenting "Les frères Kip" in his first part and then
>>>> descibing
>>>> a real happening from the years 1891/1893 (the brothers Léonce and
>>>> Eugène
>>>> Degrave), which is in some way very close to the Kip - story, so
>>>> that I
>>>> can
>>>> imagine that Jules Verne wrote his novel based on that events.
>>>> Anybody who know about that article or the historical true story
>>>> from the
>>>> Degrave - brothers in this Forum? And if so, what is your opinion?
>>>
>>>
>>> Dear Bernhard,
>>>
>>> the Degreave (aka Rorique) affair as an ispiration of Les frčres Kip is
>>> confirmed by Volker Dehs in his recent Verne biography (pp. 415-6).
>>> According to its footnotes, it was already Marcel Moré who pointed
>>> to this
>>> fact in his 1960 book Le trčs curieux Jules Verne. And I remember that
>>> later also Herbert Lottman mentioned it.
>>>
>>> Christian Porcq in BSJV (No. 109, 1994, "Catyclysme dans la
>>> cathédrale ou
>>> le secret des Frčres Kip"), on the contrary, believes Verne's novel was
>>> inspired by the Dreyfus affair. He supports his thesis with many
>>> cryptograms (unconvincing to me), but Volker Dehs demonstrates that the
>>> book had been written before Verne changed his mind in favor of
>>> Dreyfuss.
>>>
>>> Sincerely
>>>
>>> Jan Rychlik
>>>
>>
>
>
/Les Frères Kip/ was inspired to Jules Verne - according to himself - by
the story of the Rorique brothers, in relatilty the Degrave brothers.
There are several texts and books about the story of these two Belgian
brothers, tried and sentenced in France after having spent some time in
the Southern Pacific where they acted as pirates.

Most of the books published (at least in French and English) about the
Rorique-Degrave brothers are incomplete and written to be sold as
adventure books. The ONLY reliable source for the Rorique-Degrave story
is a Dutch book which includes a huge bibliography, and a whole chapter
dedicated to /The Kip Brothers/.

Here it is: Vandamme, Jan - /De Affaire Degrave-Rorique (1892-1899).
//Moord & Piraterij in de Stille Zuidzee/. Antwerpen-Baarn, Hadewijch,
1992, 264 p.

There are plans at Wesleyan University Press to make /The Kip Brothers/
available next year in English. I was invited to write an introduction
and the notes to the novel. Besides of being a mystery and science
fiction novel, /The Kip Brothers/ is one of the best Verne novels to
learn geography..

Jean-Michel Margot
226 Thomas Ruffin Str.
Hillsborough, NC 27278
USA
(919) 644-7327
jmmargot~at~mindspring.com
www.ajmm.net
Received on Sat 23 Jul 2005 - 00:22:14 IDT

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