The Survivors of the Chancellor by Jules Verne
Author: Jules Verne | Published: 1874
The Survivors of the Chancellor Synopsis
The Survivors of the Chancellor is a novel by Jules Verne, first published in 1875. It tells the story of a group of passengers and crew shipwrecked after their ship, the Chancellor, is damaged by a fire.
The novel begins with the narrator, J. R. Kazallon, describing the sea's situation and the Chancellor, that is about to set sail from Charleston, South Carolina, to Liverpool. The sail on the Atlantic Ocean is calm and storm-free. One crewmate that stands out is Robert Curtis, the other crew describes him as strong and always ready for action. Curtis tells the narrator that they have almost reached the Bermudas, but the Captain has chosen an unusual route. Despite his knowledge of sailing and the sea, the Captain's temperament is to the point that the narrator questions his sanity.
Excerpt from The Survivors of the Chancellor Online Book
CHARLESTON, September 27, 1898.—It is high tide, and three o'clock in the afternoon when we leave the Battery quay; the ebb carries us off shore, and as Captain Huntly has hoisted both main and top sails, the northerly breeze drives the Chancellor briskly across the bay. Fort Sumter ere long is doubled, the sweeping batteries of the mainland on our left are soon passed.
About Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. He is best known for his adventure novels, which are often set in the future and feature technological innovations that were not yet available in Verne's time. Verne is considered one of the founders of the science fiction genre.
Verne was born in Nantes, France, on February 8, 1828. In 1852, Verne moved to Paris to work as a stockbroker. However, he continued to write in his spare time and eventually published his first novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon, in 1863. The novel was a success, launching Verne's career as a writer. Verne went on to write over 60 novels, including Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). His novels were translated into many languages and enjoyed great popularity worldwide. Find out more about Jules Verne on sevenov.com.