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Re: new 20K

From: <spaceart~at~att.net>
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 02:31:38 +0000
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

There was never meant to be a discussion, let alone a debate, about the relative merits of the various editions of 20K. I realize that I triggered just such a discussion this past week, albeit altogether inadvertantly. However, the book that I've just made available is not at all about the merits or demerits of Lewis or even flawed translations in general---in fact, Lewis' name is not mentioned anywhere in the book, nor is any issue made regarding the flawed origins of the text and its restoration (other than a brief mention on the back cover). This 20K is presented as 20K and nothing else. The end matter---the maps and charts and schematics and whatnot---are there only to add to the overall enjoyment of the story. In fact, there are only about a dozen footnotes in the book itself beyond the ones Verne himself provided. (All of which may make this edition more peculiarly suited for young adult readers.) This 20K is one that is meant strictly for people who want to read it for
  entertainment---as a good novel and nothing more---and I think I am justified in believing that it will not only do that but will also enable the reader to experience something of the flavor of the era in which the book was written and takes place. And I *absolutely* insist that all of the foregoing is merely a descriptive statement about the book that is not meant in any way to compare it qualitatively with other editions, nor to incite any argument about the relative values of assorted translations, old or new. I would like to think that it exists---and is worthwhile---for its own merits...and I do believe it has some. It is *different* from other available editions but I make no claim that it is superior to them. The "students and Vernophiles" that Tom refers to, who want or need something beyond a good read, have Butcher and Miller, who, with their fine translations, copious and meticulous footnotes and scholarly supporting texts, have done far more, and far better, in
 that vein than I could possibly have hoped to. The only possible advantage I can think of regarding my 20K is that it is interactive. The nature of the POD process allows me to make changes easily between printings of individual copies. This means that I can incorporate ideas, suggestions, corrections and revisions from readers...in much the same way that I was able to add a map to my Journey to the Center of the Earth because readers requested it. I think this would be both fun and interesting for everyone involved.

RM

PS---
The book is now available online. I will post the address tomorrow as soon as I make sure everything is as it should be. The book itself is a 6x9 inch paperback, 352 pages long, printed on a heavy cream book paper. I took some care to make it a nice-looking volume, with readable type and handsome page design. There is a full-color cover and about two dozen B&W illustrations (based on the original illustrations from the Unicorn edition). The back matter consists of a detailed two-page perspective cutaway of the Nautilus with 3-view plans and elevations; a map of the world with the course of the Abraham Lincoln and the Nautilus indicated; maps of Keeling Is. and Vanikoro (with a section view of the latter based on 19th century surveys); detail maps of Santorin and the Torres Straits (the latter based on the actual chart mentioned in the book); a scale cutaway of Nemo's secret island; a drawing of mid-19th century steam frigate like the Abraham Lincoln; a schematic drawing of a
 Ruhmkorff coil and lamp; a page comparing the Nautilus to about two dozen 19th century submarines, to scale; a page of text, with a photo, on the origin of the Nautilus; a page on Verne's source for his description of the squids, with a contemporary illustration; and a schematic drawing of the Rouquayrol-Denayrouse diving apparatus and suit.

From: "thomas mccormick" <tom_amity~at~hotmail.com>
> Of course, we must bear in mind that this sort of discussion about
> 20,000Leagues-in-English will be otiose in a few years. By that time we will
> have a new cohort of students and Vernophiles, whose impressions of 20,000
> Leagues will be gathered from good translations (such as Miller's or
> Butcher's), and when they want more of Captain Nemo they'll have Kravitz or
> Stump or whatever. A debate about the merits and demerits of Lewis will be
> regarded as a quaint period piece, of interest only to philologists. Most of
> Verne's readers will be too busy being entertained and moved by his works to
> care about the fate of flawed translations, which they will jump over or
> blow up.
>
> Tom McCormick
Received on Fri 14 Oct 2005 - 04:32:28 IST

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