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TRIBUTE
GALLERY |
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Mathias
Sandoorf: Verne's Monte Cristo |
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Trieste,
1867. Two petty criminals, Sarcany and Zirone, intercept
a carrier pigeon. They find a ciphered message attached
to its leg and uncover a plot to liberate Hungary from
Austro-Hungarian rule. The two meet with Silas Toronthal,
a corrupt banker, and form a plan to deliver the conspirators
to the police in exchange for a rich reward. The three
conspirators, Count Sandorf, Stephen Bathory and Ladislas
Zathmar are arrested and sentenced to death.
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Fifteen
years later, the renowned physician Dr. Antekirtt sets
out to avenge those three brave men. Enlisting the aid
of two French acrobats, Pescade and Matifou, he scours
the Mediterranean in search of those who planned the
betrayal. Rich beyond all imagination, wielding great
power and master of an island fortress filled with advanced
weaponry, Dr. Antekirtt will not rest until justice
is done. |
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This
edition is set from George Hanna’s original translation,
with slight adjustments, modifications and restorations.
It is the first time Mathias Sandorf has been reprinted
with all 111 illustrations since the Sampson, Low, Marston,
Searle and Rivington Edition of 1889. The layout has
been restored to Verne's original 5 act structure as
set in Hetzel's first French edition. |
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From
Classics for Pleasure, Michael Dirda, Harcourt
2007 |
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Verne
always makes sure that his “marvellous journeys”
are always, no matter how technical, didactic, or humorous,
tales of wonder and adventure. Mathias Sandorf
– appropriately dedicated to the memory of Alexandre
Dumas – offers a Vernian take on the immortal
revenge saga The Count of Monte Cristo. In
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, three
men climb down through a chimney of a volcano to discover
another world underground. Like such swashbuckling authors
as C.S. Forester, Rafael Sabatini, and George MacDonald
Fraser, Verne seldom lets up on the excitement. |
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To read
Jules Verne when one is young is one of the great treats
of childhood. To read Jules Verne later in life is to
discover a writer just as satisfying but even richer,
one who is not only a natural storyteller but also a
mythmaker, a social critic and an innovative artist.
In France, Verne is now studied seriously as an innovative
literary figure and thanks to fresh accurate English
translations more and more of his work is available
to American readers in reliable texts. |
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Mathias
Sandorf: Some back story and little known facts |
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Mathias
Sandorf was Jules Verne’s last collaboration with
Pierre-Jules Hetzel, the publisher passing away a year
after the novel went to press. Verne had originally
planned a darker tale, with Sandorf, like Monte Cristo,
bent on revenge. After much prodding, Verne was convinced
to change tone; his protagonist would seek justice,
a nobler pursuit. |
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Sandorf
had been Verne’s most ambitious novel to date.
It contained the largest cast of characters he’d
ever brought to life, and the action took place in over
20 cities around the Mediterranean. Verne was fascinated
by the beauty of the Great Sea and wanted to share it
with his readers. Verne often stated that the inspiration
for the novel came during a family cruise to Tanger
and Malta aboard his yacht the Saint Michel. The storm
off Malta described in Part III is based on his own
real experiences aboard ship. |
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Verne
may have first heard about the Foiba beneath Pisino
castle in Charles Yriarte’s works Les Bords
de l'Adriatique (The Ports of the Adriatic) - (Hachette,
Paris 1878) and Trieste e l'Istria (Trieste
and Istria) - (Hachette, Paris 1875). Yriatre described
the old castle as well as his trip down into the gorge.
He also mentioned an experiment by a young nobleman,
Count Esdorff, to find the end of the underground river.
Unfortunately the count's boat never made it out of
the underground cave. |
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REVIEWS |
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| Click
on the Kirkus logo to read a review of The
Black Corsair. |
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| Click
on the Thistles and Pirates logo to read a review
of The Black Corsair by 'The Pirate Lady':
writer/editor Cindy Vallar. |
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QUICK
FACTS |
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Paperback | 496 pages | ISBN 978-0978270704 Published 14 March
2007 |
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Image: Guizzardi, Editrice Boschi 1962 |
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READ
SAMPLE CHAPTERS |
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Mobi-Ebook |
PDF |
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BLOGS |
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| Famous
for his detailed research, Jules Verne collected all available information
about the places he described. While preparing to write the huge
three-volume novel Mathias Sandorf, he wrote a letter to the mayor
of Pisino, Giuseppe Cech, asking if he could add to Yriarte's research.
Mr Cech provided the information and sent Verne several photographs
of the city which may have later been used as the basis for Leon
Benett’s wonderful illustrations. Two years later, Jules Verne
sent the mayor a first edition of Mathias Sandorf with
a hand written dedication: "Au Podestat de Pisino - Hommage
de l’auteur - Jules Verne - Paris, 22 novembre 1885."
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| from
La Foiba di Pisino by Nerina Feresini (Trieste, 1972) |
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| Poster from the
1921 film Directed by Henri Fescourt |
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Poster
from the 1963 film Directed by George Lampin |
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Sandorf
on Stage and Screen |
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Mathias Sandorf
was performed as a five act play in Paris in the 1880s. Though
the novel had been popular, the play failed to attract. Verne
himself did not make it to Paris in time to see the live adaptation.
Neverthless an English version made it across the ocean and
played the Boston theatre in the fall of 1888. |
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There have
also been three screen adaptations of Mathias Sandorf. The
first was made in 1921 and directed by Henri Fescourt. It
starred Yvette Andréyor, Romuald Joube, and Jean Toulout.
During the '20s Fescourt was one of the most successful directors
working for Cineroman, and Mathias Sandorf, Les
Gransa and Mandarin were among his most popular
works. |
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In 1963 Georges
Lampin directed another version starring Louis Jourdan, Francisco
Rabal, Renaud Mary, and Serena Vergano. It strayed from Verne's
orginal plot. A revolution is brewing and despite his life
of privilege, Count Sandorf (Louis Jourdan) has sided with
the rebelling masses. Unfortunately, his daughter has fallen
in love with the leader of the military regime. Mathias is
betrayed by false friends and improsoned as the country draws
nearer to civil war. |
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Perhaps
the most highly-acclaimed version was the TV miniseries made for
French and German television in 1979. Directed by Jean-Pierre Decourt
it starred Istvan Bujtor as Mathias Sandorf, Ivan Desny as Zathmar,
Amadeus August, Claude Giraud, Monika Peitsch, Sissy Höfferer,
Jacques Breuer. |
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| Stills
from the 1921 Mathias Sandorf film directed by Henri Fescourt |
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