Jules Verne Forum

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Re: "F. P. Walter" translation -- not new

From: Michael Everson <everson~at~evertype.com>
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:06:07 +0000
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

To set the record straight, I did find Rick's translation on both the
Gutenberg site and on Zvi's site, and I wrote to Rick to make sure
that it was all above board to put it into print. It was, and I did.
Rick made sure that I used the Zvi text since that is evidently more
accurate than the one at Gutenberg.

I chose fonts for text and display that were contemporary with Verne
himself, just as I had done with my Irish-language translation of
Around the World in Eighty Days. I also used the same design for
Craig's new book Nautilus -- and for both 20,000 Leagues and Nautilus
I chose undersea photos for the cover art. They books look great next
to one another.

Rick said that the Evertype edition was "privately issued". That term
often means a limited edition, but in fact the book is "publicly
issued" and is available on Amazon and other venues.

I don't have anything to say about what is fair or unfair to the USNIP
publishers. The Miller/Walter book is a different book from the
Evertype book. It's got notes and other explanatory material. It has
some, but not all, of the original illustrations. The Evertype book
has all the illustrations, and is just for reading.

And what a great read it is! I found it a real page-turner. I was
surprised how modern the novel felt.

I am grateful to Rick for having put his translation in the public
domain. We can't expunge Mercier Lewis, but I hope at least that the
Evertype edition will be seen to be a valuable contribution. For my
part I am proud of the publication.

It is a great pity that there aren't more excellent translations
readily available. I'm reluctant to publish other older translations
of Verne because I wouldn't want to perpetuate the proliferation of
incomplete, bowdlerized, or just plain bad translations.

In case anyone wants a link the the Evertype editions:

http://www.evertype.com/books/20k-leagues.html F. P. Walter translation

http://www.evertype.com/books/nautilus.html Craig Weatherhill's sequel

http://www.evertype.com/books/cuairt-na-cruinne.html 80 Days in Irish

http://www.evertype.com/books/adro-dhen-bys.html abridged edition in
Cornish

Glad Yule to all,
Michael Everson * http://www.evertype.com/
Received on Wed 16 Dec 2009 - 19:06:15 IST

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