The Mysterious Island

For other uses, seeThe Mysterious Island (disambiguation).

The Mysterious Island

Cover page ofThe Mysterious Island
Author	Jules Verne
Original title	L'Île mystérieuse
Translator	Agnes Kinloch Kingston andW. H. G. Kingston(1875) Stephen W. White(1876) I. O. Evans (1959) Lowell Bair (1970) Sidney Kravitz (2001) Jordan Stump (2001)
Illustrator	Jules Férat
Language	French
Series	The Extraordinary Voyages#12 Captain Nemo#2
Genre	Adventure novel,Science fiction
Publisher	Pierre-Jules Hetzel
Publication date	August 1874– September 1875 (serial) November 1875 (book)
Publication place	France
Published in English	1875
Media type	Print (Hardback)
Preceded by	Around the World in Eighty Days
Followed by	The Survivors of the Chancellor
Text	The Mysterious IslandatWikisource

The Mysterious Island(French:L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel byJules Verne,serialised from August 1874 to September 1875 and then published in book form in November1875.The first edition, published byHetzel,contains illustrations byJules Férat.The novel is acrossoversequelto Verne's famousTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas(1870) andIn Search of the Castaways(1867–68), though its themes are vastly different from those books. An early draft of the novel, rejected by Verne's publisher and wholly reconceived before publication, was titledShipwrecked Family: Marooned with Uncle Robinson,indicating the influence of the novelsRobinson CrusoeandThe Swiss Family Robinson.Verne developed a similar theme in his novel,Godfrey Morgan(French:L'École des Robinsons,1882).

The chronology ofThe Mysterious Islandis incompatible with that ofTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas,which begins in 1866, whileThe Mysterious Islandbegins during the American Civil War, yet is supposed to happen 16 years afterTwenty Thousand Leagues.

Plot summary

During theAmerican Civil War,five Northernprisoners of warescape during theSiege of Richmond, Virginia,by hijacking a hydrogen-filled observation balloon. The escapees areCyrus Smith,arailroadengineerin theUnionarmy (named Cyrus Harding inKingston's translation); his ex-slave and loyal follower Neb (short forNebuchadnezzar);Bonadventure Pencroff,asailor(who is addressed only by his surname; in Kingston's version, he is named Pencroft); hisprotégéand adopted sonHarbert Brown(called Herbert in some translations); and thejournalistGedéon Spilett(Gideon Spilett in English versions). The company is completed by Cyrus's dog "Top".^a

After flying in a great storm for several days, the group crash-lands on a cliff-bound, volcanic,unknown island,described as being located at34°57′S150°30′W(Southern Pacific Ocean/Asian:Oceanian side), about 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) east of New Zealand and about 11,000 kilometres (6,800 mi) from Virginia. They name it "Lincoln Island" in honor ofAbraham Lincoln.With the knowledge of the brilliant engineer Smith, the five are able to sustain themselves on the island, producing fire, pottery, bricks,nitroglycerin,iron, anelectric telegraph,a cave home inside a stony cliff called "Granite House", and even a seaworthy ship, which they name the "Bonadventure". They start to think of themselves as colonists rather than castaways.

Map of "Lincoln Island"

During their stay on the island, the "colonists" endure bad weather and domesticate anorangutan,Jupiter, abbreviated to Jup (or Joop, in Jordan Stump's translation). There is a mystery on the island in the form of an unseendeus ex machina,responsible for Cyrus' survival after falling from the balloon, the mysterious rescue of Top from adugong,the appearance of a box of equipment (guns and ammunition, tools, etc.), and other seemingly inexplicable occurrences.

The group finds amessage in a bottledirecting them to rescue acastawayon nearbyTabor Island,who is none other thanTom Ayrton(fromIn Search of the Castaways). On the return voyage to Lincoln Island, they lose their way in a tempest but are guided back to their course by a mysterious fire beacon.

Ayrton's former companions arrive by chance on Lincoln Island and try to make it into their lair. After some fighting with the protagonists, the pirate ship is mysteriously destroyed by an explosion. Six of the pirates survive and kidnap Ayrton. When the colonists look for him, the pirates shoot Harbert, seriously injuring him. Harbert survives, narrowly evading death. The colonists at first assume Ayrton has been killed, but later they find evidence that he was not instantly killed, leaving his fate uncertain. When the colonists rashly attempt to return to Granite House before Harbert fully recovers, Harbert contractsmalariabut is saved by a box ofquininesulfate, which mysteriously appears on the table in Granite House. After Harbert recovers, they attempt to rescue Ayrton and destroy the pirates. They discover Ayrton at the sheepfold, and the pirates dead, without any visible wounds except for a little red spot on each of them.

The island is revealed to beCaptain Nemo's hideout, and home port of theNautilus.Having escaped themaelstromat the end ofTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas,theNautilussailed the oceans of the world until all its crew except Nemo had died. Now an old man, Nemo returned theNautilusto its secret port within Lincoln Island. Nemo had been the mysterious benefactor of the settlers, providing them with the box of equipment, sending the message revealing Ayrton, planting the torpedo that destroyed the pirate ship, and killing the pirates with an "electric gun". On his death bed, Captain Nemo reveals his true identity as the lost Indian Prince Dakkar, son of arajaof the then-independent territory ofBundelkundand a nephew of the Indian heroTippu-Sahib.After taking part in the failedIndian Rebellion of 1857,Prince Dakkar escaped to adesert islandwith twenty of his compatriots and commenced the building of theNautilusand adopted the new name of "Captain Nemo". Before he dies, Nemo gives them a box of diamonds and pearls as a keepsake. Nemo's final words are "God and my country!" ( "Independence!", in Verne's original manuscript). TheNautilusis scuttled and serves as Captain Nemo's tomb.^b

Afterward, the island's central volcano erupts, destroying the island. Jup the orangutan falls into a crack in the ground and dies. The colonists, forewarned of the eruption by Nemo, find shelter on the last remaining piece of the island above sea level. They are rescued by the shipDuncan,which had come to rescue Ayrton, but was redirected by a message Nemo had previously left on Tabor Island. After they return to the United States they form a new colony in Iowa, financed with Nemo's gifts.

Publication history in English

In the United States the first English printing began inScribner's Monthly,April 1874, as a serial.In September 1875 Sampson Low, Marston Low, and Searle published the first British edition ofMysterious Islandin three volumes entitledDropped from the Clouds,The Abandoned,andThe Secret of the Island(195,000 words). In November 1875 Scribner's published the American edition of these volumes from the English plates of Sampson Low. The purported translator,W. H. G. Kingston,was a famous author of boys' adventure and sailing stories who had fallen on hard times in the 1870s due to business failures, and so he hired out to Sampson Low as the translator for these volumes. However, it is now known that the translator ofMysterious Islandand his other Verne novels was actually his wife, Agnes Kinloch Kingston, who had studied on the continent in her youth. The Kingston translation changes the names of the hero from "Smith" to "Harding"; "Smith" is a very common name in the UK and would have been associated, at that time, with the lower classes. In addition many technical passages were abridged or omitted and the anti-imperialist sentiments of the dying Captain Nemo were purged so as not to offend English readers. This became the standard translation for more than a century.

In 1876 theStephen W. Whitetranslation (175,000 words) appeared first in the columns ofThe Evening Telegraphof Philadelphia and subsequently as an Evening Telegraph Reprint Book. This translation is more faithful to the original story and restores the death scene of Captain Nemo, but there is still condensation and omission of some sections such as Verne's description of how a sawmill works. In the 20th century two more abridged translations appeared: the Fitzroy Edition (Associated Booksellers, 1959) abridged by I. O. Evans (90,000 words) andMysterious Island(Bantam, 1970) abridged by Lowell Bair (90,000 words).

Except for the Complete and Unabridged Classics Series CL77 published in 1965 (Airmont Publishing Company, Inc), no other unabridged translations appeared until 2001 when the illustrated version of Sidney Kravitz appeared (Wesleyan University Press) almost simultaneously with the new translation of Jordan Stump published by Random House Modern Library (2001). Kravitz also translatedShipwrecked Family: Marooned With Uncle Robinson,published by the North American Jules Verne Society and BearManor Fiction in 2011.

Wrecked On A Reefinfluence

The 2003 English edition ofWrecked On A Reef(1869), a memoir by French shipwreck survivorFrançois Édouard Raynal,has additional appendices by French scholar Christiane Mortelier who presents a case for the influence of Raynal's book on Verne'sThe Mysterious Island.TheGraftonwas wrecked near New Zealand on theAuckland Islandson 3 January 1864, where the crew of five survived for 19 months before obtaining rescue.Wrecked On A Reef,Raynal's memoir of the incident, was very popular at the time of publication, being translated into multiple languages. According to Mortelier, Verne read Raynal's account and loosely based his novel on the true life story ofGraftonshipwreck, survival, privation, and ultimate rescue.

Translations in Indian Languages

The novel has been translated intoMarathibyB. R. Bhagwattitled 'निर्जन बेटावरचे धाडसी वीर', which roughly translates as "Brave Fighters on a Deserted Island", and has a cult following inMaharashtra.The novel has also been translated toMalayalam,asNigoodadweep,translated by Kesavan Nambisan. There are more than one translation inBengali.The translation by Kuladaranjan Roy is called “আশ্চর্য দ্বীপ” (Aschorjo Dwip) and has been republished byKalpabiswa Publicationsin 2023. Another translation by Shamsuddin Nawab fromSheba Prokashonipublished in 1979 is calledRahosshor Dip.

Adaptations

Lobby Card for the 1929 film version ofThe Mysterious Island,filmed inTechnicolor

Film – English language

• 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea(1916 film):This classic American silent feature combinesTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the SeasandThe Mysterious Islandinto a single narrative, shifting back and forth between theNautilusand the island.
• The Mysterious Island(1929 film):loosely based on the back-story given for Captain Nemo in the novel. It is an American part-talking feature shot largely inTechnicolor,and features talking sequences, sound effects and synchronized music. Filmed as a silent but a talking sequence was added to the beginning and brief talking sequences were integrated into the film. Directed byLucien HubbardwithBenjamin ChristensenandMaurice Tourneur.
• Mysterious Island(1951 serial):a 15-chapterserialdirected bySpencer Gordon Bennet.
• Mysterious Island(1961 film):directed byCy Endfield,also known asJules Verne's Mysterious Island,featuring special effects fromRay HarryhausenandHerbert Lomas Nemo and a score byBernard Herrmann.
• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island:a 2012 film loosely based on the novel, directed byBrad Peyton,done as a sequel to an earlieradaptationof Verne'sJourney to the Center of the Earth,withDwayne Johnsontaking over the lead role fromBrendan Fraser.

Television – English language

• Mysterious Island:a Canadian television series that ran for one season in 1995.
• Mysterious Island(2005):a TV movie featuringPatrick Stewartas Captain Nemo which is only loosely based on the novel. Nominated for aSaturn Awardfor best TV presentation.
• Jules Verne's Mysterious Island:A 2012 cinematic adaptation, loosely based on the novel, made for theSyfy Channel.
• The 2019 Netflix television seriesThe I-Landis inspired by Vernes' Mysterious Island, and a paperback copy of Vernes' book is featured in the first episode.

There is also some significance of an adaptation of Captain Nemo and the Mysterious Island in the first arc of the sixth season ofOnce Upon a Time.

Film and TV – foreign language

• Mysterious Island(1941 film):aUSSRproduction, directed by Eduard Pentslin.
• The 1967 live-action/animated filmThe Stolen Airshipby Czech film makerKarel Zemanis based loosely on Jules Verne's novelsTwo Years' VacationandThe Mysterious Island.
• La isla misteriosa y el capitán Nemo(L'Île mystérieuse) (1973): directed byJuan Antonio BardemandHenri Colpi:a TVminiseriesfeaturingOmar Sharifas Captain Nemo.

Audio and music

• The Mysterious Island(1977): A radio adaptation by Ian Martin broadcast on theCBS Radio Mystery Theater.
• The Mysterious Island(2018): a new radio dramatisation byGregory Evansbroadcast onBBC Radio 4on 5 August 2018 as part of theirTo the Ends of the Earthdrama series.

Boardgames

• The boardgameMysterious Islandwere published by The Game Crafter in 2019. The game is a cooperative game, based on the themes of Jules Vernes novel, where all players have to survive and escape an island.

Video games

• The computer gameMyst,released 1993, and several locations featured in the game were also inspired by Jules Verne's novel.
• The computer gameReturn to Mysterious Island(2004) is anadventure gamesequel to the story. Its heroine, Mina, is shipwrecked alone on the uncharted island, and finds the body of the previous inhabitant, Captain Nemo (whom she buries). She finally escapes by locating theNautilusand disabling the island's defenses.On November 25, 2008Microïds(Anuman Interactive's adventure games label) announced that a sequel was being made,Return to Mysterious Island II.It had been in development byKheops Studiosince April 2008, and was released on PC and AppleiPhoneon August 14, 2009.

Literature

• The 2002 novelCaptain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Geniushas the events of this novel based on 'real' events that occurred to the real Nemo, Andre, who gave the details of his encounters to Verne.

• The 2021 novel ‘Daughter of the Deep’ by Rick Riordan inspired by Jules Verne’s books ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ and ‘The Mysterious Island’.

Theme park

• Mysterious Islandis also the name of a themed land atTokyo DisneySeaopened in 2001 and features two attractions based on other Jules Verne novels,Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the SeasandJourney to the Centre of the Earth.

Cyrus SmithblessingCaptain Nemoon his death bed inThe Mysterious Island

Notes

• ^aIn the French original, some characters were named a little differently: Gédéon Spillet, Nabuchodonosor (Nab) and Harbert Brown. In the Kingston translation, the engineer is named Cyrus Harding, and the sailor is named Pencroft.
• ^bThere are discrepancies incontinuitybetween this novel andTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.Although this novel was written in 1874, its events take place from 1865 to 1869. The events ofTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seastake place between 1867 and 1868. For example, the Captain Nemo appearing in this novel dies at a time when the Captain Nemo inTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seaswas still alive. There is usually a note in most editions of the book admitting date discrepancies. There are also similar discrepancies withIn Search of the Castaways,although, these are not as often pointed out. Another error is that Neb is depicted as Smith's former slave. But since Smith is identified as being from Massachusetts, where slavery was abolished in the 1780s, Neb would never have been a slave.

External links

• The Mysterious IslandatStandard Ebooks
• The Mysterious IslandatProject Gutenberg—Stephen W. White translation (1876)
• The Mysterious IslandatProject Gutenberg—W. H. G. Kingston (Mrs. Agnes Kinloch Kingston) translation (1875)
• The Mysterious IslandatFaded Page(Canada)
• The Mysterious Island—Sidney Kravitz's unedited unabridged translation (2001). The extensive introduction and notes for this volume are atMysterious Island Introduction.
• The Mysterious Island—Interactive 3D model on CryEngine 1 by Crytek
• The Mysterious Islandpublic domain audiobook atLibriVox
• North American Jules Verne Society
• Link to a map of Lincoln Island with English labels
• The Mysterious Island—BBC Radio 4 drama adaptation