Magellania - (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) by Jules Verne (Paperback)

About the Book

"A unique novel that widens the scope of Verne's literary legacy and distinguishes itself in Verne's somber, philosophical questioning of society, religion, nature, and man as he neared the end of his life"--

Book Synopsis

Magellania--the region around the Strait of Magellan--is the home of Kaw-djer, a mysterious man of Western origin whom the indigenous people consider a demigod. A man whose motto is "Neither God nor master," he has shunned Western civilization and its hypocrisies in order to live peacefully on an island claimed by no one. But when a storm strands a thousand immigrants on his island and they ask him to be the leader of their colony, Kaw-djer must decide whether to help them live and prosper in this foreign land at the end of the world or leave them to their fate.
Jules Verne penned Magellania in 1897, following the death of his brother and at a time when his own health was beginning to fail. Originally titled Land of Fire and At the End of the World, Magellania was intended to reflect Verne's deeply held religious and political beliefs as well as examine his own mortality.
This first English translation of the original manuscript shows Magellania to be a unique, forceful novel that widens the scope of Verne's literary legacy.

Review Quotes

"Verne sketches out theories of politics and self-government in [his] . . . portrayal of a man seeking the last unsettled corner of the earth."--Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Jules Verne (1828-1905), the most translated author in the world, wrote numerous classics of adventure and science fiction, including The Meteor Hunt, Lighthouse at the End of the World, and The Golden Volcano, all available from the University of Nebraska Press. Benjamin Ivry is an American writer on the arts, broadcaster, and translator. He has translated Sylvie Weil's At Home with André and Simone Weil and Gaston Derys's My Doctor, My Wine, among others. Olivier Dumas is the president of the Jules Verne Society in France and one of the world's leading experts on Verne.