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Re: Masters of the Sea: The Adventures of Jules Verne's Mathias Sandorf

From: James Keeline <keeline~at~yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2010 07:26:15 -0700 (PDT)
To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

It's not clear to me if this is indeed a new translation to English or if it is a reprint of an old translations. If Dr. Rios has translated this anew, I wonder about the quality of the translation if the introduction attributes "science fiction" to Verne's dedication. To insert this phrase and attribute it to Verne suggests that this is a loose translation at best.

The issue here is not one of whether Verne is appropriately considered the "father of science fiction" or if his stories properly fall into that genre but whether this translation is any better (or newer) than the copies readily available on places like Google Books.

Mathias Sandorf
Part 1 of the 1889 Sampson Low:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Vo5uUM5vedIC

Part 2 of the 1889 Sampson Low:
http://books.google.com/books?id=UinFWfjmeVIC

With book digitization projects like Project Gutenberg, Google Books, and Archive.org offering public domain texts or page scans and print-on-demand companies like Lulu giving a forum to "publish" these with minimal effort, there are many opportunists who are issuing "new" editions which are not new at all, just free and available as a source of passive income for the person involved in the reprint.

I think that this sort of reprint is fine so long as it is clear what is new in the edition. Is it a new translation and iUniverse print on demand is the best way to go? Does it contain a new introduction or notes to place it in historical context? Or is it merely a least-work-possible reprint? If one does add material or brings to print titles or texts not readily available on the free book sources, this print-on-demand method of publishing can provide stories that are hard to find in vintage copies.

I am in the beginning phases of a project to reprint certain kinds of stories from an author I study, Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930), using Lulu.com. In this case, the stories reprinted are in four categories (1) scarce books, (2) short story collections, (3) long stories from periodicals not published in book form previously, (4) unpublished manuscripts. Most of these will include an introduction and possibly new illustrations commissioned if the old ones are not satisfactory. This is a slow process for one person but something I am interested in as I am writing a biography of this author.

Incidentally, in less than three weeks we're hosting a convention in San Diego, California, USA for the 100th anniversary of one of Stratemeyer's most famous creations, the Tom Swift series. He also created, but did not write, the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series which are popular in the US and somewhat around the world.

James D. Keeline
NAJVS

100th Anniversary Tom Swift Convention (July 16-18, San Diego)
http://TomSwiftEnterprises.com http://www.CafePress.com/TS100

> I
> check Amazon every so often for new Verne works and I came across this one
> today.
>
>>
>>> It was released this month published by
>> iUniverse.
>>>
>>> Here is the Product Description:
>>Product
>> Description
>>Jules
>> Verne, the "Father of Modern Science Fiction," is indeed immortal and
>> eternally young across three centuries. In Masters of the Sea: The Adventures of Jules Verne's
>> Mathias Sandorf, we pay tribute to Verne who inspired pioneers
>> throughout the world for generations. Here, we take Verne's ultimate
>> prediction of communication with our friends of the watery deep to its outer
>> limits. In fact, communication with these friends was heralded throughout the
>> world when in 2003, America used dolphins to clear mines designed to hamper
>> the invasion from the port of Unn Qasr in southern Iraq. For the first time, a
>> pioneering research Preface underscores why and how Verne proclaimed Mathias
>> Sandorf his greatest epic science fiction masterpiece. His dedication of the
>> original work claims "...I tried to make of Mathias Sandorf my Monte Cristo of
>> extraordinary science fiction adventures."
>>> Verne drew his Austrian
>> heroic character, Dr. Mathias Sandorf, from the reality of the battleground of
>> Germany's conquests of Austria and France during the 30-year period prior to
>> World War I.
>>About the
>> AuthorGeorge J. Rios, M.P.A., Ph.D.
>> has distinguished himself with nine Public Service appointments including
>> three White House assignments spanning five presidential administrations and
>> is a former New York City Commissioner. He renders a unique service to
>> science-fiction aficionados with his scholarly researched and adapted
>> translation of Jules Verne's preeminent novel.
>>>
>>> I was
>> wondering if anyone had read this translation and had any comments.
>>>
>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Peter.
>>
________________________________
  
>>
Received on Tue 29 Jun 2010 - 17:26:26 IDT

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