Five Weeks in a Balloon
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Adventure novel | |
Publisher | Pierre-Jules Hetzel |
---|---|
Publication date | 1863 |
Published in English | 1869 |
Media type | Print (Hardback) |
Followed by | The Adventures of Captain Hatteras |
Text | Five Weeks in a Balloon at Wikisource |
Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, A Journey of Discovery by Three Englishmen in Africa (
Public interest in fanciful tales of African exploration was at its height, and the novel was an instant hit; it made Verne financially independent and led to long-term contracts with Pierre-Jules Hetzel's publishing house, which put out some sixty more books of his over the next four decades.
Plot summary
A scholar and explorer, Dr. Samuel Fergusson, accompanied by his manservant Joe and his friend
A good deal of the initial exploration is focused on finding the source of the Nile, an event that occurs in chapter 18 (out of 43). The second leg is to link up the other explorers. There are numerous scenes of adventure, composed of either a conflict with natives or conflict with the environment. Some examples include:
- Rescuing a missionary from a tribe that was preparing to sacrifice him.
- Running out of water while stranded without a wind over the Sahara.
- An attack on the balloon by bearded vultures, leading to dramatic developments as Joe leaps out of the balloon.
- The actions taken to rescue Joe later.
- Narrowly escaping the remnants of a militant army as the balloon dwindles to nothingness with the loss of hydrogen.
- The shooting of a bluebuck, now known to be anachronistic since the species was already extinct.[A]
In all these adventures, the protagonists overcome the challenges they face through continued perseverance more than anything else. The novel is filled with coincidental moments where trouble is avoided because wind catches up at just the right time, or the characters look in just the right direction. There are frequent references to a higher power watching out for them.
The balloon itself ultimately gives out before the end, but makes it far enough across to get the protagonists to friendly lands, and eventually back to England, therefore succeeding in the expedition. The story abruptly ends after the African trip, with only a brief synopsis of what follows.
Film adaptations
- 1961 - 20th Century Fox all references to Jules Verne were dropped from the film.[2]
- 1962 -
- 1975 - Viaje Fantástico en Globo, Mexico, directed by René Cardona Jr. and starring Hugo Stiglitz
- 1977 - Five Weeks In A Balloon, Hanna-Barbera animated film directed by Chris Cuddington
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ Verne 2015, p. 75.
- ^ p.234 Taves, Brian, Michaluk, Stephen & Baxter, Edward The Jules Verne Encyclopedia Scarecrow Press, 1996
Sources
- ISBN 978-1-5168-5211-6. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
External links
- Works related to Five Weeks in a Balloon at Wikisource
- Five Weeks in a Balloon at Standard Ebooks
- Five Weeks in a Balloon at Project Gutenberg
- Cinq semaines en ballon at Project Gutenberg (in French)
- Five Weeks in a Balloon public domain audiobook at LibriVox