A lottery ticket

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Front cover of the French original edition with an illustration by the draftsman George Roux
Illustration from the novel drawn by George Roux

A lottery ticket (also Ein Lotterie-Loos or Ein Lottery ticket ) is a novel by the French author Jules Verne . The novel was first published in 1886 by the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel under the French title Un billet de loterie. (Le numéro 9672) published. The first German-language edition appeared in 1887 under the title Ein Lotterie-Loos . The English title of the novel is The Lottery Ticket . In the USA the novel was published under the title Ticket No. "9672" published.

action

The story begins in Norway in the Telemark province . The widow Mrs. Hansen lives here, who runs an inn in the mountains with her children Hulda and Joël. The young Hulda supports her mother with her work and Joël works as a mountain and travel guide for tourists. Hulda is full of hope that the fisherman Ole Kamp, who is her fiancé, will return. This is on a fishing campaign on the Viken off Newfoundland . After his return, the two want to get married.

An unfriendly guest invades the rural idyll. To the amazement of the children, Mr Sandgoist puts pressure on their mother. However, the mother keeps her secret to herself.

Preparations for Hulda and Ole's wedding are well underway as the Viken are expected to arrive. But their arrival is delayed day by day. Hulda is worried about Ole's return.

Joël takes Hulda on one of his tours to distract her. The tour is supposed to lead him to a tourist. On the way they save a man from falling into the waterfall at a large waterfall at the risk of their lives. It's about the lovable Professor Sylvius Hog. He is a lawyer and member of the Norwegian House of Representatives in Storting . They bring Hog injured to her mother's inn. He is also the tourist we are looking for. He is very grateful to his rescuers and starts researching Ole's whereabouts after realizing how desperate Hulda is. Hog finds a message in a bottle that a Dane has fished out of the sea. The content is a lottery ticket with the number 9672, on the back of which there is the following text: “3. May - most expensive Hulda! The Viken is sinking! All my fortune is in this lottery ticket. I can only entrust it to God to send it to you, and since I can no longer be there, I ask you to attend the drawing. Take it to you with my last farewell! ... Do not forget me in your prayers, my Hulda ...! Farewell, beloved bride, God be with you! - Ole Kamp ”. Hulda falls ill after hearing this devastating news.

The publication of this rousing story in the daily newspapers around the world resulted in a large number of offers. The public is of the opinion that a ticket with this fateful path must have a chance of winning. Offers to buy the lottery ticket are overflowing. However, Hulda does not sell the lot. It's more than a lottery ticket to her, it's Ole's last message to her. Sandgoist claims the lot for himself. He is a usurer and has Hulda's mother in hand with promissory notes on her house. To save the family's possessions, Hulda triggers the guilt and hands him the lot.

Sandgoist is not satisfied with the chance of winning the lottery and wants to sell the lot to the highest bidder. But the public is so angry about this request that he doesn't get any offers for the lot.

On the day of the raffle, the siblings take part in the raffle accompanied by Sylvius Hog, according to Ole's last wish. As the winnings increase, so does the tension. The highest win ultimately falls on lot number 9672. Sandgoist appears to be the winner. Surprisingly, however, Ole Kamp steps forward with the ticket in hand to redeem his prize. Then Hulda collapses. Sylvius Hog's search was successful! As a shipwrecked man, Ole was able to save himself on an iceberg. Hog was able to buy the lot from the usurer before the draw. Now Hulda and Ole can marry and the family's debts are paid.

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

Web links

Commons : Ticket No. "9672"  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Un billet de loterie  - Sources and full texts