1000 Books Before You Die discussion

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

So... When I read this a few years ago, I discovered that there are two completely different translations. Not two translators that use slightly different words but two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT books. Which is pretty weird. And some publishers seem completely unaware of this anamoly; publishing both versions as the "unabridged" Journey. As near as I could tell from my research, one of the original translators, perhaps THE original translator, decided to rewrite the book, changing names and adding characters. And this "translation" became known to entire generations as the story.

From Wikipedia...
"The 1871 English language edition published by Griffith and Farran (named Journey to the Centre of the Earth at Project Gutenberg) is an abridged and altered translation. It changes the Professor's name to Hardwigg, Axel's name to Harry (or Henry) Lawson, and Grauben's name to Gretchen. It omits some chapters, while rewriting or adding portions to others. The redactor's note by Norm Wolcott, at Project Gutenberg, claims that this translation is the most popularly reprinted one, despite the flaws. The 1877 translation by Ward, Lock, & Co., Ltd., translated by Frederick Amadeus Malleson, is more faithful, though it too has some slight rewrites (according to the redactor at its Project Gutenberg page, where its title is translated as Journey to the Interior of the Earth).
The 1877 translation by Ward Lock & Co Ltd., translated by Frederick Amadeus Malleson was adapted by AD Classic Books' 2008 edition of Journey to the Center of the Earth. In this edit by A.R. Roumanis, antiquated writing and out of date sayings were replaced which makes this the most modernized version available.
The novel frequently uses the device of the Professor explaining or arguing scientific matters with Axel, in order to communicate scientific facts on which the world-view is based. In the midst of their descent, this role reverses at one point, as Axel points out strata to the Professor as another example of the same story-telling method. Many things postulated in the novel are now known to be incorrect, including the temperature of space being minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and volcanoes erupting due to a reaction between water and chemicals in the Earth's crust."

When I read this book, I will be reading it in French. That is one of the advantages of being a French major in university. My daughter read this book when she was in middle school, and she said there were a lot of bits about geology. I wonder what version she read. That was quite a while ago.
There is a movie version with James Mason from the 60s, which we all enjoyed watching. Lots of action and no geology lessons.

That is a bit of fascinating info. I read this years ago and I am guessing that it was the common translation. Now I want to read it again, both translations.

I think there was a time in the translation field when translators sometimes almost rewrote what they were translating. Jack London was especially butchered in French and retranslated a few years ago.

I also remember watching a film version of Joyrney as a child and bein traumatised by it!

Interesting Renee. I have to watch for that when I get my copy of this. Thanks for the info!

I read the book not that long ago. It was a fun read, and I learned a lot about rocks.