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Re: La libert?, la musique et la mer

From: volker dehs <volker.dehs~at~web.de>
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:04:38 +0200
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

Indeed, the only source of this assertion is in fact the still unpublished Ducrest memoirs (original at the Nantes municipal library, a copy at Amiens in the Centre international Jules Verne where I read the 121 pages):

"Son frère Paul note lui, au jour le jour, tout ce qui permettra de faire une relation de voyage. Il le fait pour lui, plutôt que pour son Frère, pour en conserver un vivant et durable souvenir; c'est pourtant ce récit que Jules Verne revoit, à son arrivée en France, met au point, et publie sous le titre ci dessus [Une Ville flottante]." (p. 87)

"Il a aussi "Une fille flottante" récit de son voyage avec son Frère Paul sur le Great Eastern. Mais il n'a qu'une mise au point à faire de l'oeuvre même de son Frère car nous savions tous que Paul Verne l'avait écrite en entier." (p. 96)

Is it credible ? I don't think so. There are a lot of confusions in the memoirs, and I'm extremely prudent to accept his informations 100 %. Don't forget, Raymond Ducrest de Villeneuve was 9 years when the voyage took place, 13 when the book was published and 72 when he finished his memoirs (he died the same year in 1930).

It's very possible that Jules used notes taken by his brother, but he took notes, too, as you wrote, and they habe been analyzed by Philippe Scheinhardt in his thesis "Jules Verne: génétique et poietique (1867-1877)", 2005 (available at the Atelier national de reproduction des thèses / Thèse à la carte). The manuscript of the novel is exclusively in Jules' handwriting, and so I think that Ducrest, in this case, confused some informations.

His memoirs should be published in a critical, commented edition.

Volker


> I would like to return once again to the Paul writings.
>
> I seem to remember that there is a dispute over the authorship of Une ville flottante. According to Ducrest (if I am not mistaken), Paul was the real author of the novel, and Bill shares this opinion (sorry, Bill, if I do not remember well), while VolkerŽs biography of Verne does not pretend it and cites PoeŽs Oblong case as a possible model for the story (and an apologize to Volker, if I am again mistaken).
>
> Are there any other indications than the (Ducrest) memoir of Verne?
>
> I see that the book is far from super, but it is also full of typical Vernian passion for steamers and sea travel. In the Verne-hetzel Correspondence, there is a mention of HetzelŽs dislike of the story and Vernes conviction that a real story can attract his readers. So I think he originally wrote a book of travels, but was forced to add a Poe-like story (far behind PoeŽs quality). I have always thought that a merge of the novel with the Humbug would have been more plausible reworking of the (possible) original version of the novel.
>
> And there is in fact VerneŽs diary of the travel in the Amiens Library.
>
> Jan
>
> > ------------ Původní zpráva ------------
> > Od: <jcrovisier~at~free.fr>
> > Předmět: Re: La libert?, la musique et la mer
> > Datum: 13.8.2008 09:48:36
> > ----------------------------------------
> > Selon Ian Thompson <Ian.Thompson~at~ges.gla.ac.uk>:
> >
> > > 3 The Soc de Géo has two quite good photos of Chaffenjon's Orinoco 1885
> > > expedition in its collection...might be of interest as illustrations in you
> > > thesis.
> > > Regards,
> > > Ian
> >
> > I guess the whole set of photographs from Chaffanjon's Oronico expedition
> > is kept at the library of Société de Géographie.
> >
> > Some of them were shown last year in an exhibition at Bibliothèque de
> > France and are posted here:
> >
> > http://expositions.bnf.fr/socgeo/arret/11.htm
> > http://expositions.bnf.fr/socgeo/grand/50.htm
> > http://expositions.bnf.fr/socgeo/grand/51.htm
> > http://expositions.bnf.fr/socgeo/grand/52.htm
> > http://expositions.bnf.fr/socgeo/grand/53.htm
> > http://expositions.bnf.fr/socgeo/grand/54.htm
> > http://expositions.bnf.fr/socgeo/grand/231.htm
> > http://expositions.bnf.fr/socgeo/grand/241.htm
> >
> > If this has not been already done, it would be interesting to compare these
> > photographs (and the drawings made from them by Riou in Chaffanjon's book)
> > with the illustrations by Roux in Le Superbe Orénoque.
> >
> > Jacques Crovisier
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>

-- 
Volker Dehs, Eisenbahnstr. 9, D-37073 Göttingen. Tel.: 0551 / 370 80 41
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Received on Wed 13 Aug 2008 - 22:04:50 IDT

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