Self-Propelled Island

Jules Verne (1828–1905), the world's most translated author, wrote numerous classics of adventure and science fiction, including The Meteor Hunt, Lighthouse at the End of the World, The Golden Volcano, and Magellania, which are all available from the University of Nebraska Press. Marie-Thérèse Noiset is a professor emerita of French and translation at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has also translated Caught in the Storm by Seydou Badian. Volker Dehs is a German literary critic and leading Jules Verne specialist and biographer.

"We're in the midst of a marvelous Verne renaissance. . . . The Self-Propelled Island is a novel of great appeal, especially to Americans: by sending northern and southern aristocrats to sea in literally the same boat, it not only features one of Verne's fabulous futuristic vehicles but also unfolds one of his shrewdest, wittiest political satires."—Frederick Paul Walter, Verne translator and former vice president of the North American Jules Verne Society

• Introduction by Volker DehsTranslator’s NotePart OneI. The Concerting QuartetII. The Power of a Cacophonous SonataIII. A Chatty MentorIV. The Concerting Quartet DisconcertedV. Standard Island and Milliard CityVI. Invitees . . . InvitiVII. Heading WestVIII. NavigationIX. The Hawaiian ArchipelagoX. Crossing the LineXI. The Marquesas IslandsXII. Three Weeks in the TuamotusXIII. Stopping at TahitiXIV. Parties and More PartiesPart TwoI. In the Cook IslandsII. From Island to IslandIII. Concert at the CourtIV. British UltimatumV. The Taboo at Tonga TabuVI. A Collection of Wild AnimalsVII. The HuntVIII. The Fiji Islands and Their InhabitantsIX. A Casus BelliX. Change of OwnersXI. Offense and DefenseXII. Taking the Helm, Starboard or Larboard?XIII. The Last Word by PinchinatXIV. Denouement