The Mysterious Island: Difference between revisions

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'''''The Mysterious Island''''' (or ''L'Île Mystérieuse'', if you want to use the original French title) is a novel by [[Jules Verne]]. Originally published in 1874, the book is essentially a castaway story. During the American Civil War, 5 Union Soldiers and their dog companion escape a Confederate prison in a <s> hot air</s> balloon. Unfortunately, a storm blows them off course and they end up on a deserted island, which they are forced to make their new home. This being a Verne story, our heroes are far too industrious to merely ''survive''. Over the course of the book, they tame the island and reconstruct the civilization they left behind. They become quite content in their new home, but never enough to abandon their ultimate quest to re-establish contact with the rest of the world.

 

* [[Robinsonade]]: This is played straight with the colonists, but deconstructed with {{spoiler|Ayrton}}. Apparently his loneliness is to blame for the state in which they find him.

* [[Science Marches On]]: Tabor island (AKA Maria-Theresa reef) where Ayrton was marooned, and which was long believed to sit at the stated location, was later proven to not exist at all. What's interesting is that the Ernest Legouve reef, a similar phantom island close to the purported Tabor's position, sits roughly in the same location as Verne's Lincoln island.

 

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