Robur the Conqueror
Robur the Conqueror (also Robur the winner , Robur the aviator , fr. Robur-le-conquérant ) is a novel by the French author Jules Verne . The novel was first published as a book in 1886 by the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel . A preliminary publication took place in the Journal des Débats politiques et littéraires in the period from June 29 to August 18, 1886. The first German-language edition appeared in 1887 under the title Robur der Sieger .
action
The story begins in Philadelphia , USA . The Weldon Institute there, an association of enthusiastic amateur airshipmen, is planning to build a steerable airship. However, the members disagree on whether the propeller should be attached to the front or the rear of the airship . A stranger named Robur bursts into a general meeting and explains that he has already built a dirigible airship with one screw in the front and one screw in the back. When he insults the members present with his arrogant manner, they threatened to beat him. Robur draws two revolvers. In the subsequent scuffle, Robur disappears.
The members look for Robur in the streets of Philadelphia without being able to find him. Uncle Prudent , the club's president , is walking home with Phil Evans , the secretary. They are accompanied by Black Frycollin , Uncle Prudent's timid servant. Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans discuss the construction of the airship. While they are arguing, they find themselves in a deserted park. Suddenly they are ambushed and kidnapped.
When they come to, they find themselves in a dark room. Robur frees them. Uncle Prudent, Phil Evans and Frycollin are on board the Albatros , a large flight platform built by Robur, which is held in the air with two screws at the front and rear and rotors like a helicopter and can be steered in all directions. Robur has kidnapped the two members of the Weldon Institute and their servant and forces them to make an involuntary trip around the world aboard the Albatros .
The journey leads across the United States across the Pacific Ocean to China and from there across the Himalayas to India . There Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans try in vain to escape from the Albatros . Over the Caspian Sea , Robur Frycollin, who crouches screaming in fear all the time, gives a lesson. He puts him in a large basket that he lets dangle from a long line under the albatross .
Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans throw a tobacco can with a cry for help overboard in Paris. In Africa , the men of the Albatros intervene in a tribal feud by opening fire on one side from aboard the Albatros . Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans also take up arms and support the Albatros men .
When the Albatros penetrates into Antarctica , one of the propellers is damaged in a storm. The Albatros continues north and lands on an island to repair the damage. The prisoners flee during the repair work. You leave a bomb on board; the albatross explodes.
Uncle Prudent, Phil Evans and Frycollin return to Philadelphia. The Weldon Institute is building an airship that will be named Go ahead . The go ahead has one screw at the front and one at the back. Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans are also on board during the Go ahead's first flight . Suddenly the albatross appears and defeats the go ahead in a race. However, when the go ahead crashes, Robur pulls the crew over to the Albatros . He lands and exposes the members of the Weldon Institute to public ridicule. The Albatros then leaves Philadelphia.
background
In the novel Robur the Conqueror , Jules Verne anticipated the invention of the helicopter. A helicopter like the Albatros was of course never built. The Albatros has a hull with screws on the bow and stern, a platform with superstructures and 37 poles with propellers, at least that's how it is shown in the illustrations in the first edition.
The figure of Robur is reminiscent of Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea , but it is not that complex. In 1904 a sequel appeared with the title The Lord of the World .
filming
The novel was filmed in the United States in 1960 under the direction of William Witney with the title Robur, the Lord of the Seven Continents , but with a completely different opening legend. The actors are Vincent Price as Robur, Henry Hull as Uncle Prudent, Charles Bronson as John Strock, Mary Webster as Dorothy Prudent and David Frankham as Philip Evans.
expenditure
- Jules Verne (Author), Hans-Peter Oswald (Ed.): Robur - Le Conquérant . BoD, Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-5856-7 .
- Jules Verne: Robur, the Conqueror ("Robur, le conquérant"). Diogenes-Verlag, Zurich 1982, ISBN 3-257-20412-4 (translated by Peter Laneus).
- Jules Verne: Robur, the winner . Hartleben Verlag, Leipzig 1887 (German first edition).
Individual evidence
- ↑ German by Paul Heichen, Kleine Roman-Reihe 7, A. Weichert Verlag, Berlin, undated, approx. 1928
literature
- Volker Dehs , Ralf Junkerjürgen: Jules Verne. Voices and interpretations of his work . Fantastic Library Wetzlar, Wetzlar 2005 (series and materials of the Fantastic Library Wetzlar; vol. 75).
- Volker Dehs: Jules Verne. A critical biography . Artemis & Winkler, Düsseldorf 2005, ISBN 3-538-07208-6 .
