Jules Verne Forum

<jvf@Gilead.org.il>

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 1996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011

Re: Joyous Miseries (+ LtdM)

From: wbutcher <wbutcher~at~netvigator.com>
Date: Tue, 10 May 2011 18:32:23 +0800
To: "'Jules Verne Forum'" <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

Dear Per Johan,

 

Thanks for the kind compliments. I would emphasise that my aim was
relatively modest, simply to provide an edition of Joyous Miseries (JM),
together with as much directly relevant information as I could find, but
excluding the trip itself, (largely) the 1861 diary, The Lottery Ticket (BL)
and even (largely) Verne’s sketches (briefly covered in Salon de 1857 and
elsewhere).

 

Thanks also for your private message, with its discreet suggestions, which
will be very useful for the 2nd edn.

 

I think you raise two important points. Verne was not only interested in
pictorial representations, but, as we know, produced his own, and even used
pictures of different sorts to write his books. (Before unfair criticisms
are raised as to lack of references, I am rapidly summarising here part of
my current research on Verne’s sources, which are often pictures rather than
texts.)

 

The five-way relation between JM, BL, the diary, Verne’s sources and
real-life Scandinavia is a challenging field of primary research that it is
indeed vital to investigate – and who better than you? More generally, the
intersection between Verne’s books and life is in my view a neglected field,
with little research carried out to date. The Scandinavian (and Scottish)
trips would seem to form an ideal entry to it, if only because of the amount
of information now available. So please keep up the good work!

 

Best regards,

 

Bill

http://www.ibiblio.org/julesverne/

1A, Kai Kuk Shue Ha, Luk Keng, North District, NT, HONG KONG

 

  _____

From: owner-jvf~at~Gilead.org.il [mailto:owner-jvf~at~Gilead.org.il] On Behalf Of
Per Johan Moe
Sent: 06 May 2011 21:01
To: jvf~at~Gilead.org.il; wbutcher~at~netvigator.com
Subject: Re: Joyous Miseries (+ LtdM)

 

Dear Bill
This is excellent work.
- the critical material is truly interesting to read.
And thank you for the kind references to my work.
.
Indeed the pictures from the travel magazine; Le Tour du Monde (1860)
clearly appealed to Verne´s "visual nature of imagination” as you put it. I
find illustrations no.10 and no.11 particularly interesting in that context.

Picture no.11 - showing log-cabins at the Bamble hamlet in the Heddal
valley, was a place Verne himself visited on his Telemark journey, and it
was 25 years later written into the novel Lottery Ticket as the home of
Siegfrid Helmboe, Juhel´s fiancé.
Picture no.10, inside the Bolkesjö-Inn, is also mentioned in the novel, as
an important stopping place for every traveller of the period (P.Riant,
J.Leclercq etc.)
However, Verne´s diary indicate that he did not select this route for
himself on his way to the Rjukan falls in 1861. [I do know most articles on
the subject to date states the opposite, though]
.
.
Some xtra info that might interest the Forum
I will suggest for the readers of the Forum to have a closer look at the
LTdM-pictures that Bill presents here, accompanying his new translation:
We know that Verne indicated for his publisher & illustrators that visual
background material for the novel LT could be found in this LTdM article.
Traces of this is evident if we study the picture (from LT ) of Hulda at
Madam Hansen´s inn at Dal (Rjukan, Telemark) - and compare to Bills
ill.no.10.
[look closely at the furniture/shelf in the background, jugs, jars,
candlestick + legs of table]
(link to pics: <http://wp.me/Pad3Q-RN> http://wp.me/Pad3Q-RN) ]
.
As we are in the 'anniversary-year' for the Verne´s Scandinavian voyage, I
would like also to add some extra information connected to this image
because, Lancelot´s LTdM-drawing from inside the Bolkesjö Inn (pic.no.10),
holds more 'secrets' still:
Have a look at the man with the strikingly long hair. For a long time I did
not pay much attention to the features of this person
- until last summer when I visited this very inn, (these old log buildings
from 1776 still stands)
The current owner, Mrs. Bolkesjö, great great grand daughter of the very
same innkeper that greeted LTdM-writer Paul Riant back in 1858, welcomed me.

During this visit to the Bolkesjö area and the Jondalen valley close by, I
was presented with a booklet containing a portrait from 1844 of the very
same innkeeper, drawn by the famous Norwegian painter Adolf Tidemand.
(Tidemand (ref. Verne/Salon 1857) - was later credited as artistic source,
under an other LTdM-drawing made by Pelcoq).

This drawing by A.Tidemand (see scan through the below link) had a striking
resemblance with the Lancelot xylographic engraving, because of the
'hairstyle'
- I find it very likely that those two images depict the very same person.
.
Mr. Gullik Olsson Bolkesjö, the original owner of the inn, was a member of
the N. parliament, 'The Storting' - and was known to sit down to chat with
his visitors. Most likely, writer Paul Riant of LTdM made a sketch of him
and handed it over to artist Lancelot to make a proper picture.
The interior reappeared in Vernes novel through G. Roux´s drawing, but the
innkeeper did not
- he was exchanged by a proprietor of the opposite sex: Madame Hansen -
probably inspired by Verne´s own stay at the Kongsberg guesthouse bearing
her name.
Adolf Tidemands drawing of the male innkeeper at Bolkesjø ended up in the
vaults of the Norwegian National Gallery.
[for easy access, the images discussed can be seen here:
http://wp.me/Pad3Q-RN]
.
- best regards Per Johan
at the Oslofjord, Norway
www.jules-verne.no/english
celebrating the 150 yrs:
1861 - 2011

----- Original Message -----
From: "wbutcher" <wbutcher~at~netvigator.com>
To: "'Jules Verne Forum'" <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>
Sent: Wed, 4 May 2011 22:06:17 +0800
Subject: Joyous Miseries

Dear All,

 

 

I am pleased to announce that I’ve published my translation, with critical
apparatus, of Joyous Miseries of Three Travellers in Scandinavia on
http://www.ibiblio.org/julesverne/JoyousMiseriescompact.pdf. A revised
edition, incorporating constructive comments and suggestions, will be
available shortly.

 

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

 

http://www.ibiblio.org/julesverne/

 

1A, Kai Kuk Shue Ha, Luk Keng, North District, NT, HONG KONG

 

 

=
Received on Tue 10 May 2011 - 13:32:45 IDT

JV.Gilead.org.il
Copyright © Zvi Har’El
$Date: 2011/05/10 14:00:03 $$