I Read Books: Robur The Conquerer
The story opens with mysterious noises coming from the sky all over the world (causing at least one duel because Jules Verne liked writing about duels). However the Weldon Institute of Philadelphia is not interested; they are building an airship, a lighter-than-air craft that will go as fast as a horse, maybe? Their meeting is raucously unable to decide if the propeller should go in front or behind.
Then they are interrupted by the mysterious Robur who addresses them on behalf of heavier-than-air flight. They are so outraged that they chase him outside, where he vanishes.
Later that night the President and Secretary of the Institute along with the (sigh) comic relief black servant are kidnapped by Robur onto his Aeronef the Albatross. It’s electric*, and has lots of vertical screws from the top that lift it, and is pushed forward by propellers (this is a gyrodyne apparently).
 |
| Yep, this is it |
Anyway, it’s a big impractical helicopter.
 |
| An alternative illustration |
Robur takes them on a world tour, because why not if you can travel the world in safety at a hundred and twenty knots? Anyway we end up with an inferior knock-off of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but Verne wrote that too so I guess he’s allowed to revisit his own ideas. Eventually the Albatross is damaged in a storm, the kidnapees set a bomb to destroy the craft and escape onto the Chatham Islands.
Returning home to Philadelphia they build their balloon, only for the rebuilt Albatross to come and watch the first flight. The balloon goes too high and bursts, Robur rescues them, and then declares that mankind is not ready for his genius and vanishes again.
Read This: For some wacky proto-steampunk adventures*
Don’t Read This: Read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) instead
Also: Available for free online, and there’s a sequel Master of the World
* Shoutout to Serge whose theory that Steampunk is really, really interested in electricity
Comments