> Date:    Thu, 7 May 1998 13:59:24 -0400
> From:    Mike Blake <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: Jules Verne's character Robur
>
> Brian Taves wrote:
>
> > There are two novels concerning the character, Robur, "the conqueror of
> the air" in the Verne pantheon.  The first novel was published in
> 1886, as
> *Robur-le-conquerant*, translated both as *Robur-the-Conqueror* and
> *The
> Clipper of the Clouds*.  In it, Robur kidnaps a pair of balloonists
> who
> refused to believe in a heavier-than-air machine, taking them around
> the
> world in his *Albatross*, a sort of giant, perpetually-airborne
> helicopter
> designed along the lines of a luxury ocean liner. <
>
> Isn't there some sort of connection with Nemo in (the version I read)
> CLIPPER OF THE CLOUDS?
> It seems to me Robur mentions something about being inspired by or
> rediscovering Nemo's special form of electrical power. The library in
> my hometown had a good Verne collection, but it's been over twenty
> years.
>
> --Mike Blake

No, there are no direct connections or allusions between either of the two
Robur novels (*Robur-the-Conqueror* and *Master of the World*) and the two
Nemo novels (*Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas* and *The Mysterious
Island*).  A few vague similarities in plot and characterization are
outweighed by the differences.  Both Robur's *Albatross* and Nemo's
*Nautilus* were powered by electricity, and impacted by Victorian design
styles, but there any resemblance ends.  For instance, while Verne
explains Nemo's political motivations and life story (as an Indian prince)
in *The Mysterious Island*, Robur remains completely mysterious from his
first appearence until his death (although there are hints that he is from
the United States).  The strongest element in common between both pairs of
books, those about Nemo and those about Robur, is that all four are often
discussed together for comparative critical analysis.


Brian Taves
Motion Picture/Broadcasting/Recorded Sound Division
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.    Washington, D.C.  20540-4692
Telephone:  202-707-9930; 202-707-2371 (fax)
Email:  [log in to unmask]


Disclaimer--All opinions expressed are my own.