The Golden Volcano: The First English Translation of Verne's Original Manuscript

by Jules Verne, Edward Baxter (Editor), Edward Baxter (Translator), Olivier Dumas (Preface by)

Overview

The Golden Volcano thrusts two Canadian cousins—unexpectedly bequeathed a mining claim in the Klondike—into the middle of the gold rush, where they encounter disease, disaster, extremes of weather, and human nature twisted by a passion for gold. A deathbed confidence sends the two searching for a fabulous gold-filled volcano on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. But nature, both human and physical, hasn’t finished with them, and their story plays out with the nail-biting adventure of an action thriller and the moral and emotional force of high drama.
 
Like many of the works left unpublished when Jules Verne died, The Golden Volcano was altered and edited by his son, Michel. This first translation from the original manuscript allows readers of English to rediscover the pleasures of Verne’s storytelling in its original form—and to enjoy a virtually unknown gem of action, adventure, and style from a master of French literature.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803296350
Publisher:	UNP - Bison Books
Publication date:	05/01/2008
Series:	Bison Frontiers of Imagination
Pages:	362
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jules Verne (1828–1905), the most translated author in the world, wrote The Meteor Hunt and Lighthouse at the End of the World, both available in Bison Books editions.
 
Edward Baxter is one of the foremost English translators of Jules Verne. Among his translations are Verne’s Invasion of the Sea and Journey Through the Impossible.
 
Olivier Dumas, who wrote the preface to the French edition, is president of the Jules Verne Society in France and one of the world’s leading experts on Verne.
 

Date of Birth:

February 8, 1828

Date of Death:

March 24, 1905

Place of Birth:

Nantes, France

Place of Death:

Amiens, France

Education:

Nantes lycée and law studies in Paris

Table of Contents

Preface to the French Edition

Translator's Introduction

Part One

1. An Uncle's Legacy

2. The Two Cousins

3. From Montreal to Vancouver

4. Vancouver

5. On Board the Football

6. Skagway

7. The Chilkoot Pass

8. Lake Lindemann

9. From Bennett Lake to Dawson City

10. The Klondike

11. Dawson City

12. From Dawson City to the Alaskan Boundary

13. Claim 129

14. Working the Claim

15. The Night of August 5-6

Part Two

1. A Winter in the Klondike

2. The Dying Man's Tale

3. The Aftermath of a Secret

4. Circle City

5. A Journey of Discovery

6. Fort McPherson

7. Golden Mount

8. An Engineer's Bold Plan

9. The Moose Hunt

10. Mortal Dread

11. On the Defensive

12. Attack and Defense

13. The Eruption

14. From Dawson City to Montreal

Notes

Editorial Reviews

"The rousing conclusion of The Golden Volcano offers Verne at his best, integrating social satire, imaginative but plausible science, and rousing adventure."—Brian Taves, Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) Review

SFRA Review - Brian Taves

Baxter’s new annotated text of The Golden Volcano has a twofold value: it’s the first to be based on Jules Verne’s original manuscript, plus it provides a clear, modern rendering of a first-rate action thriller. It echoes Bret Harte’s westerns while anticipating Jack London’s arctic sagas, and some of the scene painting here is horrifyingly naturalistic—see, for instance, the scenes of desolation and death along Chilkoot Pass. The Golden Volcano is a work of exceptional power and interest.”—Frederick Paul Walter, Verne translator and trustee of the North American Jules Verne Society

Frederick Paul Walter

The Golden Volcano is a beautifully written and elegantly translated adventure tale with a biting social commentary. It is a page-turner as well as a piece of literary history—a truly stirring and unusual work.”—Peter Schulman, translator of Verne’s The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz

Peter Schulman

The prolific Verne (1828-1905), renowned in his day and through to ours, left at least 11 unpublished works at his death, each of which, according to the introduction by Olivier Dumas, was significantly rewritten by Verne's nephew, Michel Verne. This is the first English translation from Verne's original manuscript. Dumas, president of the Jules Verne Society in France, says the novel, set in the 18th-century Klondike, "can be summed up in a single phrase: 'Death and misery in the Far North.'A " It's spiked with "gold fever" and an insatiable lust for difficult travel that should make today's Lonely Planeteers take notice. (May)

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Publishers Weekly

When this book was originally published posthumously in 1906, Verne's son, Michel, rewrote many of his father's passages. Proof that the Frenchman's fiction (e.g., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; Around the World in Eighty Days) never disappoints, this version is the first authentic English translation of Verne's original manuscript and restores the story as he originally wrote it. Set at the height of the Klondike gold rush, the story recounts the adventures of two Montreal cousins who journey by train, boat, and dogsled to the Yukon territory, where they mine an inherited claim. After suffering many misfortunes, the two learn of a volcano that "spews out nuggets" of gold, which leads them to embark on a quest to find this volcano and profit from its treasure. Full of adventure and action, the novel also succeeds in providing social commentary on the evils of greed and debauchery. The differences between Verne's manuscript and his son's are highlighted in the preface and demonstrate how his son's unfortunate rewrites completely altered a wonderful story that includes fascinating depictions of the arctic wilderness and the hardships of living there. Recommended for all libraries that support literature collections.
—Erica Swenson Danowitz

Library Journal

"The rousing conclusion of The Golden Volcano offers Verne at his best, integrating social satire, imaginative but plausible science, and rousing adventure."—Brian Taves, Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) Review

— Brian Taves

SFRA Review

"Baxter's new annotated text of The Golden Volcano has a twofold value: it's the first to be based on Jules Verne's original manuscript, plus it provides a clear, modern rendering of a first-rate action thriller. It echoes Bret Harte's westerns while anticipating Jack London's arctic sagas, and some of the scene painting here is horrifyingly naturalistic-see, for instance, the scenes of desolation and death along Chilkoot Pass. The Golden Volcano is a work of exceptional power and interest."

-Frederick Paul Walter, Verne translator and trustee of the North American Jules Verne Society

Frederick Paul Walter