Five weeks in a balloon . Literary work of the French Jules Verne . The work was published in France in 1863. It is the first work in the cycle that Jules Verne himself entitled “ Extraordinary trips”And brings together most of the elements that have characterized it: adventure, the discovery of the exotic and the unknown, unexplored spaces, the surprise factor, it transmits the latest advances in science and technology, together with a good base of fantasy, imagination, geography and history. The plot catches the reader from the first pages. Jules Verne, had a recent marriage at that time and a job in the stock market that did not cover his needs, he had only written a few plays without much success, achieving with this work a contract with the publishing house of Pierre-Jules Hetzel, who published several dozen of his works for more than forty years, this novel became an immediate and unexpected success by the critics of the time and improving their economic situation. Five Weeks in a Balloon tells of the explorations of the African continent, little known to Europeans and to which many explorers came in search of its secrets.
Verne had never traveled in a balloon: he would do so for the first and only time in 1873, in a flight lasting 24 minutes.
Summary
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- 1 Synopsis
- 2 Characters
- 3 Linking to other arts
- 1 Cinema
- 4 External links
Synopsis
Book cover edited 1873.
In April 1882 and Africa, a continent then little explored, the center of many myths, beliefs and superstitions, led Dr. Samuel Fergusson, an English scholar and explorer, accompanied by his servant Joe and his friend Dick Kennedy, to decide to cross the African continent, in a risky trip using a balloon inflated with hydrogen, a device created by Dr. Samuel Fergusson that allows you to go up or down at will without losing gas or adding ballast in search of favorable currents, turning the balloon into an airship device.
The idea of this trip is to unite the explorations carried out by Burton and Speke in East Africa with those of Heinrich Barth in the regions of the Sahara and Chad , and to find the sources of the Nile .
Fergusson proposes crossing Africa from East to West, to increase knowledge about the black continent. He knows that the journey is full of dangers and difficulties, but that his love of science and his relentless bravery will help them avoid them. You will fly over the heart of Africa on the Victoria balloon to try a real geographical adventure.
His father, captain of the English Navy, had related his son, from a young age, to the dangers and adventures of his profession. So that child never knew fear, with the intelligence of a researcher, having a vocation for scientific work; showed ability to get out of any quagmire; he never rushed for anything. Following with passion the discoveries of the first part of the 19th century. His friend Dick Kennedy, when reading the article in the Daily Telegraph in the morning, knew that his friend would cross Africa in a balloon and that same afternoon, he took the railway and the next day he arrived in London to prevent such madness but is convinced by his friend and He also participates in the journey.
When Dr. Fergusson conceived the project of traversing Africa by air, for the faithful servant Joe the undertaking was a done deal. There were no possible obstacles. From the moment that Fergusson had decided to leave, it could be said that he would be accompanied by his faithful servant, the good boy, he knew that he would be part of the passage without anyone saying anything.
Their starting point will be the island of Zanzibar , on the eastern coast, so they needed the Resolute ship, with a propeller of eight hundred tons of size and very fast, the warehouse was conditioned to accommodate the aerostat in it , which was transported with the greater precautions.
The three aeronauts depart from the island of Zanzibar and travel for five weeks the Mountains of the Moon (where the adventure of the tug elephant takes place), Lake Victoria (which they recognize as the source of the Nile), the Nile, the Gold Mountains (where the adventures of the missionary, greed and thirst happen), Lake Chad (where the balloon is blown apart and Joe is lost), the Sahara desert (the hurricane), the Niger River (where the new Victoria begins to fail and the attack of the Talibas occurs) to the Güina Falls on the Senegal River , before returning to England , where they are enthusiastically received and win the gold medal for the best adventure of the year 1862.
Characters
Samuel Fergusson : a man in his forties, of normal height and build; great temperament; His expression was cold, his nose was voluminous, his eyes were very peaceful and more intelligent than bold, his arms were long.
Dick Kennedy : friend of Dr. Fergusson, Scottish , determined and stubborn . Sometimes he practiced fishing, a hunter par excellence, fond of touring the mountains, wonderful shotgun shooter, graceful and slender appearance, face very tanned by the sun, bright black eyes. While Dick hunted tigers and elephants, Samuel hunted plants and insects.
Joe : servant of Dr. Fergusson whose orders he always obeyed and interpreted in an intelligent way, an amazing visual capacity, of absolute confidence. If Fergusson was the head and Kennedy the arm, Joe would be the hand.
Link to other arts
Cinema
- 1962: “Five Weeks in a Balloon” (“Five Weeks in a Balloon”). S.
- Screenplay: Charles Bennett, Irwin Allen, Albert Gail.
- Photography: Winton C. Hoch
- And dir: Irwin Allen.
- Int .: Red Buttons, Barbara Eden, Cedric Hardwicke, Peter Lorre, Richard Haydn, BarBara Luna, Billy Gilbert, Herbert Marshall, Reginald Owen, Henry Daniell, Mike Mazurki, Alan Caillou, Ben Astar, Raymond Bailey.
- Music: Paul Sawtell.
- 1975: “Fantastic balloon trip”. Mexico. It was titled “Five Weeks in a Balloon” in Spain.
- Script: Mario Zacarías and Antonio Orellana.
- Dir .: René Cardona Jr.
- Int .: Hugo Stiglitz, Jorge Zamora, Carmen Vicarte, Jeff Cooper, Carlos East.
- 1977: “Five Weeks in a Balloon” (“Five Weeks in a Balloon”). Animation. Hanna-Barbera Australia. Australia.
- Script: Kimmer Ringwald.
- Dir .: Chris Cuddington.
- Voice actors: Booker Bradshaw, Cathleen Cordell, Johnny Haymer, Loren Lester, Laurie Main, John Stephenson, Gene Whittington.
