Viaggio a ritroso in Inghilterra e Scozia

by Jules Verne, Alessandro Riccioni (Translator)

This is the story of two young Parisians, Jacques and Jonathan, who want to visit England and Scotland, and pass through Bordeaux and Nantes. The manuscript of this novel, refused by Hetzel in 1862 as will later also be that of Paris in the Twentieth Century , was found in the archives of the city of Nantes and published posthumously in 1989.

Ce livre raconte l'histoire de deux jeunes parisiens, Jacques et Jonathan, qui veulent visiter l'Angleterre et l'Écosse, et passent par Bordeaux et Nantes. Le manuscrit de ce roman, refusé par Hetzel en 1862 comme le sera plus tard celui de Paris au XXe siècle, a été retrouvé dans les archives de la ville de Nantes et publiés à titre posthume en 1989.

204 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1989

About the author

Novels of French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, considered the founder of modern science fiction, include Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).

Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...

Reviews

[Henry Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stockbroker Jacques Lavaret ( Jules Verne in fact and his first novel of 64, written in 1860 and published in 1989) his best friend Jonathan Savournon, a music composer (Aristide Hignard ) get lucky, the brother of Jonathan who does business with a British Ship company, that has an empty cabin for two on board one of their boats, leaving for Liverpool does Monsieur Lavaret want to go on a free trip, are you kidding? ... Jacques is ecstatic he has read most of Sir Walter Scott's thrilling novels, they can take a train after arriving in England for Scotland. The men from Paris in the summer of 1859, need to travel to Nantes and the joyous Jacques persuades his friend to get there early. They shouldn't have bothered, seeing the sights of this small city with few attractions, day after boring day waiting, asking the ship company's officials when will the vessel come? It never does, new information a slight change of plans, the gentlemen have to take another ship which they need to pay for to Bordeaux, going backwards... South instead of North to England, not before getting stuck in the mud on the Loire River at low tide, the captain was a little too optimistic but after delays finally another port, the musician got seasick on the voyage causing Jacques to laugh loudly, he couldn't help it. Unbelievably, the steamer gets stuck in the mud again, this time on the Gironde River; still on shore more excruciating delays, weeks pass the friends have seen everything in Bordeaux of interest. Jacques is still enthusiastic and Jonathan glum however at long last the Hamburg, a cargo ship arrives, Captain Speedy ( must be a joke), the Scotsman welcomes the two Frenchmen, the only passengers on board. Jacques insists on trying to speak English, greeting the laconic captain every morning, with these words ..." Good mourning Captain", the mariner stares at the passenger in disbelief and shudders, the amused Jonathan who is fluent in English constantly corrects his friend's mistakes... Liverpool a huge port maybe the biggest one at that time, the busy noisy harbor, is full of every type of sea vessel from around the world, countless ships and piers yet it is a dirty city in more ways than one, numerous poor children half naked roam the streets looking for money and food, willing to do anything to nourish themselves , nobody notices , young attractive women selling there bodies everywhere, this is the black region of the country, coal pollutes all, the soot coming down from the air, buildings, property and people dying of it but every city has these wretched, impoverished sections... Edinburgh the capital of Scotland the Athens of the North, a beautiful town full of monuments many of Scott's, Jacques is excited he knows this place and the famous buildings, streets, and areas the great author has described them in his books, the glorious Castle towering above the city dominates all. Traveling by boat across the well known, long, exotic Scottish lochs (lakes) and the icy firths (sea bays) the two Frenchmen are delighted seeing the legendary highlands and mountains, some people still wearing the ancient, tartan clothes this is the real Scotland. They sadly must leave much too soon by train for London to get back to France and at night, viewing Newcastle the whole town seems a blazed , in an infernal from the profusion of smoke-belching fires of the factories chimneys ... Jules Verne serves us a gentle wine with a few spices, for the fortuitous palate.

[Magrat Ajostiernos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro de viajes basado en la propia experiencia de Verne, cargado de curiosidades y detalles Históricos con el claro punto de vista de un francés entre británicos.
No le falta ironía, está muy bien escrito y la sombra de Maria Estuardo y Walter Scott sobrevuela por todo el libro.
Perfecto si vas a hacerte un viaje por Escocia, o si eres un aficionado de aquellos maravillosos lugares.
Spoiler: A Verne le gustaba mucho más Escocia que Inglaterra (no se le puede culpar).

[Benn Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jules Verne's first novel, though published posthumously, is a semi-autobiographical tale; a travelogue really. In "Backwards to Britain", Verne recounts the journey he and his friend, Aristide Hignard, took to Britain. The trip starts in Paris heads south before heading north to Liverpool, England. From there, the two (fictionalized as Jacques [Verne] and Johnathan [Hignard]) travel to Scotland and then on to London and finally home. Basically, it is a literary version of the old vacation slides. Amazingly, though, "Backwards to Britain" isn't anywhere near as boring.

That Verne actually makes this admittedly slight novel interesting is a tribute to his talent as an author. Part of this is because B2B lack the ornate language and pedantry that would be a part of Jules Verne's style in later works. Instead, possibly due to this being his first novel, B2B is written in a crisp, simple style, filled with enthusiasm. It's especially fun to see Verne, through his avatar, Jacques, gush like a fan-boy over being in Scotland and visiting the sites Sir Walter Scott, Jules Verne's favorite author, used as the background for such books as "Rob Roy" and "The Heart of Midlothian".

"Backwards to Britain" isn't one of the classic works Jules Verne is famous for. It isn't one of his science fiction works, but definitely one of his "Voyages extraordinaire" and well worth the while of any fan of Jules Verne's to read.

[Beatrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno dei romanzi più belli di Verne: mi ha fatto tornare con l'immaginazione nei luoghi della Scozia e dell'Inghilterra che ho visitato e amato, trasmettendomi infinite emozioni. Oltre a essere ricco di descrizioni di paesaggi e monumenti, non manca la denuncia sociale della miseria e della condizione minorile. Consigliatissimo!

[Farseer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Voyage à reculons en Angleterre et en Écosse (Backwards to Britain, written 1859, first published 1989) 57K words


This semi-autobiographical novel (not part of the Extraordinary Voyages) is an account of the journey to England and Scotland that Jules Verne and his friend Aristide Hignard made in 1859. Verne always had a fascination for Scotland, and set two of his extraordinary voyages there ("The Child of the Cavern" and "The Green Ray").

For the novel, Verne changed the names of the characters: he became Jacques Lavaret, while his friend Aristide became Jonathan Savournon. This allowed him to take some liberties with the story, exaggerating a few passages, but mostly it was a faithful depiction of their trip.

This was the first novel that Verne had ever written. He offered it to the publisher Hetzel, but it was rejected. Verne set the manuscript aside and never tried to publish it again, until it was discovered and published in 1989, 84 years after the author's death. Soon after rejecting this novel, however, Hetzel would accept another Verne manuscript, also a travel story, this one fictional, dealing with the more timely topics of ballooning and African exploration. Thus, "Five Weeks in a Balloon" would become Jules Verne's first published novel and the first Extraordinary Voyage.

But let's come back to "Backwards to Britain". The title comes from a change of plan during the trip, as the steamer that was to take the two friends to Liverpool was delayed several days and finally docked not in Saint-Nazaire as originally intended, but in Bordeaux, forcing the travellers to go south to meet it, in a direction opposite to their final destination (thus "backwards").

The tone of the novel is light and good-humored. Jacques (Verne) is enthusiastic and full of puppyish energy, while Jonathan (Hignard) is calmer. Because of this engaging tone, it is a pleasant read, even though it's not as funny as some later Verne novels.

Verne was always a great admirer of Walter Scott, and one of his main sources of pleasure when he gets to Scotland is seeing the locations of the great Scottish novelist. This romantic view of Scotland is also contrasted with its modern, technological present. The darker side of this modern development is also acknowledged, with the two friends being impressed during the English part of their voyage by the misery of the factory workers in Liverpool.

Verne's biases are in view: while he admires the energy and the technological ingenuity of the English, he likes the Scots better, no doubt influenced by the natural beauty of Scotland and the romantical image of it he has from Scott's novels. He also admires Dickens, but Scott captures his imagination more.

Several of Verne's Extraordinary Voyages also take the form of a travelogue and feature geographical descriptions, but they are spiced up by an adventure, which is something "Backwards to Britain" lacks. Since I particularly enjoy adventure stories, this novel felt a bit lightweight to me, pleasant enough but not as enjoyable as Verne's adventure stories. Even though the point of view of French travellers in Britain at the height of the Victorian era is interesting, this remains an obscure entry in Verne's bibliography, and will only be read by the most thorough Verne fans, or by those particularly interested in Scotland and England travelogues or in Walter Scott's settings.


See all my Verne reviews here: https://www.sffworld.com/forum/thread...

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hovering somewhere between a novel and a travelogue, this semi-autobiographical account of Verne's first trip to Britain (accompanied by his friend, the composer Aristide Hignard) is an early, formative work which did not see publication until 1989. (This English translation appeared in 1992.) At the time of its writing, it was rejected by Verne's publisher in favor of "Five Weeks in a Balloon," and while the latter novel is of dubious quality and value, it was a shrewd choice on the part of the publisher, since it did much to establish Verne's long-germinating career as a full-time writer.

While exhibiting all the most charming characteristics of Verne's subsequent style, "Backwards to Britain" is ultimately a bit of a slog. Naturally enough, the best parts of this work are the author's descriptions of the culture -- and especially the technology -- of both France and Britain at the height of the Victorian age. Verne allows himself a bit more salt than one finds in his subsequent novels, and some of his descriptions of, for example, prostitution, crime, and poverty, might have been toned down if this work had been selected for publication at the time.

Where Verne's work fails is, as with so many travelogues, in its endless references to places which the average reader has likely never heard of. Granted, this comes with the territory, and we do have the advantage, in the 21st century, of referring to Google and Wikipedia. But the reader is likely to tire quickly of having to consult geographical references a dozen times per page of text. The result is that much of the narrative is reduced to lists of random place names and descriptions of various sights which, taken out of context, fail to stir either the heart or the imagination.

For Verne completists, this is a welcome addition to his bibliography. Those seeking the joys and thrills of "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" or "Journey to the Center of the Earth," however, should probably look elsewhere within his catalog.

[Vera LPP Lettrice_per_passione · Rating 4 out of 5]

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕊𝕔𝕠𝕥𝕥 𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕒𝕞𝕒 𝕚𝕝 𝕃𝕠𝕔𝕙 𝕃𝕠𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕝 𝕡𝕚𝕦' 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕠 𝕕𝕖𝕚 𝕝𝕒𝕘𝕙𝕚 𝕖 𝕚𝕝 𝔹𝕖𝕟 𝕃𝕠𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕕 𝕚𝕝 𝕣𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕘𝕟𝕖: 𝕙𝕒 𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕖 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
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Jules Verne è sempre stato un pioniere in quanto a letteratura di viaggio.
Si sa, quando si parla di narrativa di viaggio, io mi sciolgo e cerco sempre qualcosa di sfizioso, che possa in qualche modo attirare la mia attenzione.
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📚 Passeggiando tra gli stand di @piulibri2022 mi sono imbattuta in quello di @robinedizioni e ho scovato questa chicca, scorrendo i vari titoli sul banco.
Inutile dire che mi sono innamorata subito, rapita dal titolo per una sola parola: Scozia.
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🗺️ Eppure non si trova solamente questo, in questa cronaca di viaggio, che via via che procede assomiglia sempre di più ad un quaderno di appunti su luoghi visitati.
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⛰️ Jacques Lavaret e Jonathan Savouron sono due compagni di viaggio che tra previsioni, ritardi nelle partenze e imprevisti, in agosto dalla Francia arrivano prima a Liverpool e poi in Scozia. Verne era un vero esperto di ricerche sulla cultura dei luoghi, sulla geografia e anche, in parte, sulla storia, vivendoli, come in questo caso, in prima persona. Si percepisce in ogni riga di questo libro, in cui i protagonisti si ritrovano a fare i conti con una lingua straniera, con battelli a vapore, usanze che non sono le loro, cibi differenti. A sentirle oggi, queste cose, potrebbero sembrare assurde, ma se ci pensate questo libro è stato scritto nel 1859, quando Verne viaggia insieme ad un amico proprio verso la Scozia.
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✒️ Walter Scott è il poeta e la "guida" che Jacques e Jonathan cercano in ogni angolo, visitandone il monumento a Edimburgo, e andando sulle tracce di Rob Roy.
Non viaggiano ovviamente solo in Scozia, ma giungono fino a Londra e la visitano a tutto tondo, andando persino al Princess's Theatre a vedere Macbeth.
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Un viaggio sensazionale, che ho amato dalla prima all'ultima parola.
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Voi amate la letteratura di viaggio? Conoscete i libri di Verne?

[That Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Out of all the Verne books I've read this feels the most authentic. Just two friends who decided to take a boy's trip and documented it in a travel journal. These two man truly made the best of their time in Britain and packed so many historical sights into their schedule that one cannot possibly remember them all. As someone who had always wanted to travel to Scotland I found that portion of the book fascinating. All the mentions of Walter Scott's writings made me cave and I already added two of his novels onto my TBR shelf.
My copy of the book came with illustrations, most of which improved the reading experience, except one peculiar one depicting the two friends' skinny dipping into the sea. I was caught off guard by it.

[Francis Defourny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quelle déception ce livre de Jules Verne ! Aucune aventure ici, juste un compte-rendu de voyage plein des poncifs habituels : il pleut tout le temps, l'Angleterre ne connaît pas le soleil, les bâtiments sont laids et sales, le spectacle de Macbeth est risible et de piètre qualité alors que les protagonistes ne comprennent rien, l'anglais est incompréhensible etc. Petite particularité : aucune mention de Tower Bridge et pour cause, le récit se déroule en 185. alors que le pont ne sera construit qu'à la fin du siècle.

[Paola Buffa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como volver a Escocia y de la mano de Verne.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charles Nodier, în Fanteziile zeflemistului cu bun simţ, le-a dat acest sfat generaţiilor viitoare: „Dacă există cineva în Franţa care n-a făcut sau n-a putut face o călătorie în Scoţia, l-aş sfătui să viziteze Haute-Franche-Comté, unde va găsi cu ce să se consoleze. Cerul este poate mai puţin vaporos, iar siluetele mobile şi arbitrare ale norilor mai puţin pitoreşti şi bizare ca în regatul ceţos al lui Fingal; însă, în afară de aceste lucruri, asemănarea dintre cele două ţinuturi este perfectă.” Jacques Lavaret meditase multă vreme la aceste cuvinte ale plăcutului povestitor. La început, l-au uimit. Cea mai mare dorinţă a sa a devenit să viziteze patria lui Walter Scott, să asculte limba galică şi accentele sale dure, să tragă în piept ceţurile sănătoase ale bătrânei Caledonii, să aspire, într-un cuvânt, prin toate simţurile sale, elementul poetic al acestei ţări fermecătoare.Şi iată că un om inteligent, un scriitor scrupulos, tocmai îi spunea limpede: nu te deranja! Lons-le-Saunier îţi va traduce minunile din Edinburg, iar munţii Jura sunt la fel ca piscurile acoperite de ceţuri ale lui Ben Lomond!

Dar, după uimire, urmă reflecţia. Jacques recunoscu partea glumeaţă a sfatului lui Charles Nodier; înţelese, de fapt, că era mai uşor să ajungi în Scoţia decât în Franche-Comté; îţi trebuie, evident, un pretext serios, un motiv important ca să ajungi până la Vesoul, în timp ce voia bună, nevoia de a trăi şi altfel, o idee fericită avută dimineaţa, la trezire, fantezia încântătoare ajungeau ca să te ducă până dincolo de Clyde şi de Tweed.

Jacques zâmbi deci închizând spiritualul volum. Numeroasele sale ocupaţii nu-i permiteau să viziteze Franche-Comté. De aceea, se hotărî să plece în Scoţia. Iată deci cum se făcu această călătorie şi mai ales cum fu cât pe ce să nu se facă.

În luna iulie a anului 185…, cel mai bun prieten al lui Jacques, Jonathan Savoumon, distins compozitor, îi zise exact în acest scop:

— Dragă Jacques, o companie engleză pune la dispoziţia mea unul dintre vapoarele sale, ce transportă mărfuri între Saint-Nazaire şi Liverpool. Pot să-mi iau cu mine un prieten. Vrei să vii tu?

Jacques de abia îşi putu stăpâni emoţia. Nici nu putu să răspundă pe loc.

[Konserve Ruhlar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Çocukluğumdaki Jules Verne kitaplarının daha kapağı açar açmaz verdiği heyecanla başladım. Ama sonrası tam bir hayal kırıklığı. Gezi kitabı olması bir nevi macera beklentisi oluşturmuştu bende. Ama ne yazık ki iki Fransız'ın İskoçya'ya yaptıkları gezi hiçbir macera içermiyordu. Sadece bindikleri gemiler ve trenlerle yaptıkları yolculuklar ve ünlü yazar Walter Scott'in eserlerindeki İskoçya'yı anlatan manzaraları yakalamaya çalışmaları üzerine kurulmuş bir romandı. Walter Scott'un Edinburgh Hapishanesi ya da İskoçya'yı anlatan birkaç kitabını okumuş olsaydım belki bu kitaptan da keyfi alabilirdim.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting tale of two Frenchman's visit to Scotland, by first going south in France! Written by Verne before he started his long running series of Extraordinary Voyages, it is a somewhat autobiographical tale of Verne's own trip to Scotland in 1859 with his friend Aristide Hignard. Someday I hope to make it to Scotland and check out some of the sights described in this novel.

[Ayse Sen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seyahat kitapları okumayı sevenler için güzel bir kitap. İki arkadaşın Fransadan İskoçyaya yaptıkları yolculuğu çok akıcı bir dille anlatıyor. 1850 li yıllarda İngilterede insanların kafileler halinde seyahat edip turizm etkinliğinde bulunması anlatılmış, bunun yanında İskoçyanın ve İngilterenin tarihi eserleri ile de bilgiler bulabilirsiniz.

[Mylesgorton · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating account of a journey Jules Verne took during the early 1800s around Britain from Scotland southwards (hence the title - normally you would have started from the south if coming from the continent!)

[Aroaspirin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A toda la parte hasta Edimburgo le doy 6 estrellas de 5. pero desde ahí pierde interés. Aunque sigue siendo precioso de leer.