The amazing adventure of the Barsac expedition
The amazing adventure of the Expedition Barsac ( German title also The amazing adventures of the Expedition Barsac or The amazing adventure of the Mission Barsac ) is a novel by the French author Jules Verne . Jules Verne wrote notes and a 50-page manuscript consisting of five chapters. Chapter 5 was only about a page and a half long and ended roughly in the middle. The documents left by Jules Verne were heavily revised by Michel Verne and completed according to his ideas. The French original edition appeared in 1919 under the title L'étonnante aventure de la Mission Barsac by the Hachette publishing house in Paris . In 1914, Pierre-Jules Hetzel had sold his publishing house to Hachette. The English title of the novel is The Barsac Mission .
Plot in the section written by Jules Verne
The novel begins with a robbery on the Central Bank in London . The raid bears the signature of a son of Lord Buxton Glenor. The suspect Lewis-Robert Buxton disappears from the scene. The second son, George the Lord, is suspected dishonorably of having risen to head a gang by the military protection of a research group in Africa. He is said to have left a trail of blood through robbery and murder. Lord Buxton Glenor is devastated. He also sent his foster son William Ferney away after he took part in games of chance and forged bills of exchange. This was a son of his second wife who was brought into the marriage.
The Barsac Mission is to investigate on behalf of the French government whether the natives in Sudan are already sufficiently civilized to receive the right to vote. This initial situation, which is shaped by racist prejudices, is not refuted in the action. The extra-parliamentary mission is organized as an expedition in Konakry , the then capital of French Guinea . There are still two people interested in participating in the expedition. These are Jane Mornas and her companion, the somewhat eccentric de Saint-Bérain. Jane Mornas is actually Jane Buxton, a daughter of Lord Buxton Glenor, who wants to rehabilitate her brother.
Plot in the section written by Michel Verne
The participants of the expedition get into several adventures in which they act out of chivalry towards the lovely courageous Mademoiselle Mornas. The members of the expedition, supplied by the Black Malik and Tongané, noticed after a short time that a mysterious enemy was influencing their paths and decisions. The journalist Amédée Florence writes down the experiences and observes his surroundings with concern. His caution cannot prevent the expedition from being separated from the troops traveling for their protection. Finally, the core of the expedition participants is kidnapped with the help of mysterious flying objects. The participants of the expedition come to a city completely unknown to them in the middle of the desert. The city of Blackland is a technical marvel created by the alcohol addicted criminal Harry Killer. He takes the expedition members hostage to secure his criminal machinations. He used terror to subdue an entire stretch of land in the middle of the desert. He has developed this into a flourishing farmland. The genius of the French engineer Camaret is behind the technologically advanced solutions. Camaret is constantly building and developing new machines, technologies and weapons. He doesn't question what happens to his solutions. The captured expedition members escape direct access by Killer in Blackland and are picked up by Camaret. You open his eyes to the consequences of his developments, which then destroys Blackland.
Harry Killer turns out to be the outcast stepson William Ferney of Lord Buxton. He brought Lewis-Robert Buxton under his control in order to suspect that he had attacked the Central Bank in London. In reality, Harry Killer aka William Ferney is responsible for the robbery. He murdered George Buxton in order to be able to carry out his deeds under his name. Jane Buxton can rehabilitate her two brothers and tell her father, Lord Buxton Glenor, before his death.
literature
- Heinrich Pleticha (ed.): Jules Verne manual . Deutscher Bücherbund / Bertelsmann, Stuttgart and Munich 1992.
- Volker Dehs and Ralf Junkerjürgen: Jules Verne . Voices and interpretations of his work. Fantastic Library Wetzlar, Wetzlar 2005.
- Volker Dehs: Jules Verne: A critical biography . Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf 2005. ISBN 3-538-07208-6
