Jules Verne

The Mysterious Island Jules Verne

During the American Civil War, five Northern prisoners of war escape during the Siege of Richmond, Virginia, by hijacking a hydrogen filled observation balloon. The escapees are Cyrus Smith, a railroad engineer in the Union army named Cyrus Harding in Kingston's version; his ex-slave and loyal follower Neb short for Nebuchadnezzar; Bonadventure Pencroff, a sailor who is addressed only by his surname; in Kingston's translation, he is named Pencroft; his protégé and adopted son Harbert Brown called Herbert in some translations; and the journalist Gedéon Spilett Gideon Spilett in English versions. The company is completed by Cyrus' dog "Top".aAfter flying in a great storm for several days, the group crash-lands on a cliff-bound, volcanic, unknown island, described as being located at 34°57?S 150°30?W, about 2,500 kilometres east of New Zealand. They name it "Lincoln Island" in honor of Abraham Lincoln. With the knowledge of the brilliant engineer Smith, the five are able to sustain themselves on the island, producing fire, pottery, bricks, nitroglycerin, iron, a simple electric telegraph, a cave home inside a stony cliff called "Granite House", and even a seaworthy ship, which they name the "Bonadventure".