The humbug
The Humbug ( Le Humbug , also Moeurs américaines. Le Humbug ) is a short story by the French author Jules Verne . It was written by Jules Verne in 1867, but not published during his lifetime. Verne's son Michel Verne included the story in the anthology Hier et demain ( Yesterday and Tomorrow ), which appeared in 1910.
action
The American businessman Hopkins makes a living from turning profitable sensations into face value. His latest idea is to claim to have a gigantic fossil skeleton in his collection. The skeleton is said to be 12.5 m high and can be seen in exhibitions. But when it should come to the performance , Hopkins backs down. Wild animals are said to have destroyed the skeleton. The whole process is a bluff , however . Hopkins isn't really about making money as a showman . Rather, he plans to use the humbug to increase the company's value and then sell his shares in the company for a profit.
Bibliography (selection)
- Jules Verne, Michel Verne: The humbug . Edition Dornbrunnen, 2011, ISBN 978-3943275001 .
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 . Jules Verne. A critical biography. Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf 2005, ISBN 3-538-07208-6 .
