Riassunto
Riassunto di Robur il conquistatore
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love inventions, maps and journeys, and anyone curious about how people once imagined flight. It also rewards those who enjoy a moral argument inside an adventure.
Che cos’è questo libro
Robur the Conqueror is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, the French writer who made science the engine of his stories. It appeared in French in 1886, in the years when inventors were racing to put engines and propellers into the sky. Verne wrote it as a reply to a lively argument of his day. Would the future of flight belong to balloons, or to machines that fly by their own power?
The story begins in Philadelphia, among a club of balloon enthusiasts who think they have the answer. Then a stranger walks in and tells them they are wrong. What follows is a trip around the world in a flying ship unlike anything the club has imagined. You get a tour of Asia, Africa, the oceans and the high air, seen from a few hundred feet up. You also get a quarrel between two ideas of freedom, one that obeys the law of the crowd and one that answers to no one. Let us start with the club and its giant balloon.
In questo riassunto
- 1A balloon club argues about the futureFree
- 2A stranger says the future is heavier
- 3Life aboard the Albatross
- 4A voyage over the whole world
- 5Progress against freedom is the real contest
- 6How Verne tells the tale
Punto chiave 1 di 6
A balloon club argues about the future
The story opens in Philadelphia, at the Weldon Institute, a club of men devoted to ballooning. Its president is Uncle Prudent, a rich and stubborn man. Its secretary is Phil Evans, who is calmer but just as loyal to the cause. The members are building the largest balloon ever made, which they will call the Go-Ahead.
The club is not only proud of its balloon. It holds a firm belief that flight will always depend on machines lighter than air. The members laugh at anyone who thinks a heavy machine could fly. To them, a ship that rises by its own power is a fantasy, much like a bird made of iron.
Verne lets this argument run through the opening chapters, and he plays it with a touch of comedy. The members are loud, sure of themselves and fond of speeches. Their meetings are full of rival votes and rival opinions, and they treat the whole matter as a contest of pride. Prudent and Evans are friends, yet they are also rivals in the club, and that rivalry will matter later.
Meanwhile, strange events are reported. People in many countries describe a mysterious light in the sky, along with odd sounds, such as a trumpet or a distant horn. Nobody can explain them. Verne uses these small mysteries to prepare for the entrance of the man who can.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Robur
- Robur is the inventive captain of the Albatross, whose belief in powered flight challenges Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans.
- Uncle Prudent
- Uncle Prudent is the stubborn president of the Weldon Institute, Phil Evans's fellow balloon enthusiast and Frycollin's master.
- Phil Evans
- Phil Evans is the Weldon Institute's secretary, sharing Uncle Prudent's loyalty to balloons and opposition to Robur.
- Frycollin
- Frycollin is Uncle Prudent's timid servant, carried aboard Robur's flying ship alongside his master and Phil Evans.
- The Albatross crew
- The Albatross crew are Robur's loyal men, operating his flying ship and following their captain's orders without question.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 53,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 3 h 30 min
- Listening time5 h 50 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about Robur il conquistatore
What is Robur the Conqueror about?
It tells of two members of a Philadelphia balloon club who are kidnapped by a mysterious inventor, Robur, and carried around the world in his flying ship, the Albatross, while they argue over the future of flight.
Who is Robur in Jules Verne's novel?
Robur is the inventor and captain of the Albatross, a flying machine heavier than air. He is brilliant, forceful and secretive, and he answers to no government or society.
Is there a sequel to Robur the Conqueror?
Yes. Verne wrote Master of the World, published in 1904, in which Robur returns with a new machine. The earlier book stands on its own, so you can read it first.
When was Robur the Conqueror written?
Jules Verne published it in French in 1886. It is fiction, but it was written when real inventors were debating whether balloons or powered machines would win the race to fly.
What is the main message of Robur the Conqueror?
The book suggests that the future belongs to new technology, which stubborn pride cannot stop. It also asks how much freedom a person with great power should take from others.