Around the World on Five sous

Voyages excentriques #1

by Paul d'Ivoi, Henri Chabrillat, Brian M. Stableford (Translator)

From the Black Coat website:
"I only institute him as my universal legatee on one express condition: the fellow does not know the value of money; he would squander my fortune; thus, Lavarède must leave Paris with five sous in his pocket, and he must go around the world with no other sum at his disposal."

Armand Lavarède is a penniless young journalist who inherits a fortune from a wealthy cousin on the condition that he must first travel around the world in under a year with only five "pennies" in his pocket. If he fails, the money will go his creditor, the rapacious M. Bouvreuil, but during his journey, Lavarède knows he can count on the help of the pretty Miss Aurett, the daughter of Sir Murlyton, in order to to help him successfully gain his inheritance.

Les Cinq sous de Lavarède was a tremendous success, not only as a book--it has been constantly in print since its first publication in 1894--but also in other media; it was filmed three times in 1913, 1927 and 1939, the latter version starring Fernandel and Josette Day.

It was the best of all the novels inspired by Jules Verne's classic Around the World in 80 days; the Voyages Excentriques imprint Paul d'Ivoi launched in its wake, producing 21 volumes until his death in 1915, was the most successful of all Vernian series.

Genres: Adventure, France

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1894

About the author

Paul d'Ivoi, de son vrai nom Paul Deleutre, était un romancier français.

Paul d'Ivoi, pseudonym of Paul Deleutre French novelist.

Reviews

[Tijana]

Nekad treba priznati da i Plava ptica može da omane i da ne moramo baš sve knjige čitati u celini i celosti. Da sam imala dvanaest godina kad sam se susrela s Lavaredovih pet marjaša, sve bi bilo mnogo drugačije. Ovako? Ovako možemo samo da iskoristimo delo Pola D'Ivoa u nekoj hipotetičkoj vežbi kojom bismo pokazali šta je sve kod Žila Verna bilo super a kod njegovih epigona bedno. Baš kao i Vernovi junaci, Arman Lavared putuje oko sveta i proživljava razne pustolovine, ali naprosto nije ni blizu Fineasu Fogu ili deci kapetana Granta i lordu Glenarvanu. Vern je putešestvija svojih junaka nekako bolje obrazlagao, pustolovine su se realističnije zaplitale i otplitale, njegove putopisno-edukativne digresije manje pate od rasizma - da, znam da može zvučati neverovatno ali Vern, koliko znam, nikad nije o nekom narodu pisao "čak su belji od Portugalaca, a žene su im poznate po plodnosti"; njegovi negativci su bili beskrajno kompleksniji a njegovi protagonisti simpatičniji od Lavareda koji je solidno amoralan, samo autor misli da je to u redu ako je takođe mlad! zgodan! snalažljiv! najveći francuski šoven patriota! Trebalo bi to uporediti sa Vernovim francuskim epizodistima poput Paspartua ili Paganela koji su radili na tome da zasluže čitalačke simpatije.
A inače, ima sve sastojke koje bi čovek poželeo od nepročitane Vernove knjige: i put oko sveta, i blesavo takmičenje (putovati se mora tako da čovek nikad nema u džepu više od tih naslovnih pet marjaša), i najraznoliki pejzaži, i dirižabli i i podmornice, jednom rečju sve, ali mehanički naređano i beskrajno manje privlačno.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leuke afwisseling op Jules Verne. Vlot geschreven verhaal waarin Lavarede en zijn gezellen in de meest uiteenlopende situaties belanden, over de hele wereld. Vrij abrupt en weinig verrassend einde.

[Steve Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In some ways, Les Cing sous De Laverde exhibits all the worst features of popular fiction of its period; it is derivative, slapdash, uneven, full of outrageous coincidences and, if the pattern of its events is considered with a clinical eye, monumentally silly..."

"The novel is pure entertainment, written according to a pattern that makes for easy and relaxing reading, long on story and short on plot."

"The authors cannot match Verne for ingenuity, verve or panache, but very few of his imitators could - Robida is perhaps the only one - and Chabrillat and d'Ivoi did contrive to reproduce the Vernian appeal as well as anyone..."

These are adapter Brian Stableford's words not mine. But nothing could sum up this novel better.

[Gribouille Lechat · Rating 2 out of 5]

C'est un roman d'aventures qui rappelle un peu le Tour du monde en 80 jours, de Jules Verne et qui est assez plaisant, avec son lot de péripéties toutes plus rocambolesques et improbables les unes que les autres, et ses personnages fort sympathiques (en tout cas, pour les "gentils").
Mais il comporte aussi de gros défauts qui ont rendu sa lecture souvent laborieuse et parfois même pénible.
Outre les énormes clichés et idées reçues sur les autres peuples du monde (mais qui peuvent s'expliquer, peut-être, par l'époque où ce livre a été écrit - fin 19e siècle), l'aspect le plus rébarbatif de ce roman était les innombrables noms propres qu'il contient, que ce soient des noms de lieux (villages, villes, fleuves, montagnes...) totalement inconnus au bataillon (comment pourrait-on connaître le nom de petits villages perdus d'Amérique du Sud, de Chine ou de Russie ?) ou des noms de personnages ayant soi-disant existé, mais pour lesquels il aurait fallu faire des recherches car je n'en avais jamais entendu parler. Ces énumérations revenaient bien trop souvent pour ne pas ralentir le récit, qui sans cela aurait eu un bon rythme, et j'ai trouvé cela dommage.

[Mimilikestoreadandwrite · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book so long ago, I was around 12, a perfect age to discover this little pearl. This book was given to me by my dad, with the condition that I only read 50pages a day, instead of blowing through it like I usually did. I was to only read it sitting at his desk (while he was at work) and then after my maximum of 50 pages reached, put the book back in the top drawer. I don't think he ever checked to see if I was holding my part of the agreement but I had given my word. So I spent an excrutiating few days of anticipation for the next adventures of the ingenius Lavarede. The first book ends on a cliffhanger, and my dad hadn't thought to buy the second part in advance!! Unfortunately at that time the book had been out of press for a long time and I wasn't able to find the second book right away. I made my poor father pay for it by pouting all weekend long! Ha the nostalgia with this book is strong, but honestly this is a GREAT book for kids, young and grown alike.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Paul d'Ivoi was one of the writers following the blueprint as laid down by Jules Verne, resulting in this case in an enjoyable, but not very substantial copy of Verne's 'Around the World in Eighty Days'.

Flat villains, easily overcome challenges, and a lot of (racial) stereotypes. Stick to the original (or pick up a modern juveline adventure story, there's enough books not suffering from these dated limitations).

[Flapidouille · Rating 3 out of 5]

À lire comme un documentaire sur l'époque, y compris sur ses poncifs, stéréotypes et autres idées reçues; on y glane au passage des informations, entre autres, sur le canal de Panama et sa construction, les Francs-Maçons chinois, les moyens de transport en usage dans diverses parties du monde, et mille autres choses.
Se lit avec beaucoup de plaisir si l'on garde un regard bienveillant et si l'on met en sourdine son jugement...

[Marko Teofanovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ovo je jedna od najboljih avanturističkih knjiga ikada prevedenih na srpski jezik. Ovi što kažu da knjiga ne valja i koji traže dlaku u jajetu pišući kako pisac nema pravo da kaže da su žene neke zemlje plodne nisu ni vredni da se njihove kritike čitaju. Ako dođete u posed ove knjige videćete i sami da nema apsolutno nikakve šanse da vam se knjiga ne svidi sem ako niste oni koji vole da čitaju samo uputstva od televizora i šivaćih mašina.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books I read as a kid and still love to read again as an adult.