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Δεύτερη Πατρίδα
Η "Δεύτερη Πατρίδα", που εξεδόθει το 1900 είχε έναν επεξηγηματικό πρόλογο του συγγραφέα. Ο Ιούλιος Βέρν έλεγε σ' αυτόν πως οι πιο ζωηρές αναμνήσεις απ' την παιδική του ηλικία στάθηκαν οι περιπέτειες των διαφόρων "Ροβινσωνικών μυθιστορημάτων" που τον είχε γοητεύσει το διάβασμά τους. Και γι' αυτό είχε εμπνευσθεί τρία απ' τα πιο ευχάριστα κι απολαυστικά για τον αναγνώστη έργα του, που αργότερα μεταφράστηκαν σχεδόν σε όλες τις γλώσσες: "Σχολή των Ροβινσώνων", "Μυστηριώδης Νήσος" και "Δυο χρόνια διακοπές". Ένα απ' τα πιο πολυδιαβασμένα μυθιστορήματα της "βιοπαλαιστικής περιπέτειας" ήταν κι ο "Ελβετός Ροβινσώνας" του Καθηγητή του Πανεπιστημίου της Ζυρίχης Ρούντολφ Βυς (1781-1850). Ο Ιούλιος Βερν θυμήθηκε αυτό το ανάγνωσμα των παιδικών του χρόνων, όταν ο εκδότης Ζυλ Χετζέλ τύπωσε μια καινούργια μετάφραση του "Ελβετού Ροβινσώνα" στα γαλλικά το 1864 - γιατί το πρωτότυπο ήταν στα γερμανικά. Τότε, ο Βερν εμπνεύστηκε να γράψει μια συνέχεια στο μυθιστόρημα αυτό με τον τίτλο "Δεύτερη Πατρίδα", εμφανίζοντας τα ίδια πρόσωπα: τον τολμηρό και γενναίο Φριτς, τον κάπως εγωιστή μα μελετηρό Ερνέστο, τον πονηρούλη Τζακ και τον μικρό Φραγκίσκο, ύστερ' από δωδεκάχρονη παραμονή στο νησί. Κατόπι απ' την ανακάλυψη του Αναμμένου Βράχου, άραγε η προσθήκη της Τζένης Μόντροζ σ' αυτόν το στενό κύκλο δε θα επέφερε ορισμένες αλλαγές στον τρόπο ζωής των Ροβινσώνων; Και η άφιξη του κυρίου Ουώλστον με τους δικούς του, άλλωστε, δεν επέβαλλε να δοθεί μια συνέχεια στην αφήγηση των περιπετειών του "Ελβετού Ροβινσώνα"; Κι ο Βερν τελειώνει τον πρόλογο του έτσι: "Γι' αυτό συνέχισα το έργο του Βυς. Λυπάμαι μονάχα που η ηλικία μου δεν μου επιτρέπει να πάω να ζήσω κοντά τους!".
306 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1900
7 people are currently reading
544 people want to read
About the author
Jules Verne
6,371 books12k followersNovels of French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, considered the founder of modern science fiction, include
Journey to the Center of the Earth
(1864) and
Around the World in Eighty Days
(1873).
This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...
This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 10, 2022
Sep 20, 11pm ~~ Review asap.
Sep 22 930pm ~~ Back when I discovered that Jules Verne had written two books that took up the story of The Swiss Family Robinson, I was curious to see how he would handle the project. What would he put our castaways through that they had not experienced already? What other types of animals could he possibly imagine living together on the island? Would the dreaded pirates ever show up? Would the characters behave according to the way they were portrayed in TSFR?
So here I am at the end of Verne's final book about the family, and I can only partly answer these questions. In his first book, Their Island Home, the focus was mainly on describing the geography of the island, with a lot of debating about whether or not to properly explore the parts of the island the family had not been to before. That entire book felt like Verne was simply setting the stage for this book, The Castaways Of The Flag. The characters seemed washed out compared to who they were in the original: less confident, not as much themselves as they used to be, if that makes any sense.
This tale begins in a small boat drifting on the high sea. We gradually meet the people in the boat and learn how they got tossed into the boat when the crew of the Flag mutinied. (Sorry, spoiler minefield to identify anyone!) We drift on the seas until we reach a spot of land, a rocky, desert island type of place with no vegetation. And there the adventure truly begins. Will there be food of some sort available? Or fresh water? Shelter from the weather? Can they keep their boat safe, protected from getting smashed to pieces on the rocks? What will they all do?!
I did enjoy these books, but I have to say that even though I gave them all three stars (which means for me exactly what it means for GR ~~ I liked them) I think I liked the Wyss story the best of the three. Even with all the preaching and natural history lectures, TSFR felt more vibrant, with less fretting and despair than I found in these pages. But it was great fun to revisit the Robinson island after many many years away, and i am so glad to have stumbled upon the fact of Verne's continuing and completing the family story. Maybe if a modern day author tried such a thing I would hoot and holler and never read them. I am not generally a person who wants to know what happens after The End in certain books. But this was a curiosity for me and I couldn't keep away from an enjoyable reread of the original and an entertaining first time through The Rest Of The Story.
Sep 22 930pm ~~ Back when I discovered that Jules Verne had written two books that took up the story of The Swiss Family Robinson, I was curious to see how he would handle the project. What would he put our castaways through that they had not experienced already? What other types of animals could he possibly imagine living together on the island? Would the dreaded pirates ever show up? Would the characters behave according to the way they were portrayed in TSFR?
So here I am at the end of Verne's final book about the family, and I can only partly answer these questions. In his first book, Their Island Home, the focus was mainly on describing the geography of the island, with a lot of debating about whether or not to properly explore the parts of the island the family had not been to before. That entire book felt like Verne was simply setting the stage for this book, The Castaways Of The Flag. The characters seemed washed out compared to who they were in the original: less confident, not as much themselves as they used to be, if that makes any sense.
This tale begins in a small boat drifting on the high sea. We gradually meet the people in the boat and learn how they got tossed into the boat when the crew of the Flag mutinied. (Sorry, spoiler minefield to identify anyone!) We drift on the seas until we reach a spot of land, a rocky, desert island type of place with no vegetation. And there the adventure truly begins. Will there be food of some sort available? Or fresh water? Shelter from the weather? Can they keep their boat safe, protected from getting smashed to pieces on the rocks? What will they all do?!
I did enjoy these books, but I have to say that even though I gave them all three stars (which means for me exactly what it means for GR ~~ I liked them) I think I liked the Wyss story the best of the three. Even with all the preaching and natural history lectures, TSFR felt more vibrant, with less fretting and despair than I found in these pages. But it was great fun to revisit the Robinson island after many many years away, and i am so glad to have stumbled upon the fact of Verne's continuing and completing the family story. Maybe if a modern day author tried such a thing I would hoot and holler and never read them. I am not generally a person who wants to know what happens after The End in certain books. But this was a curiosity for me and I couldn't keep away from an enjoyable reread of the original and an entertaining first time through The Rest Of The Story.
May 29, 2022
Hasta la mitad del libro, es otro Verne más, intentando "corregir" las cosas que Wyss se dejó colgando en su "Robinsón Suizo". Esta postcuela de la novela citada comienza un par de capítulos antes de que termine la de Wyss, reenfocando los dos últimos para recoger el tema.
La primera mitad se la pasa explorando el resto de la isla, menos una parte que tendrá importancia especial al final (no, no es Nemo). La verdad es que es un poco truño, pero a partir de ahí la obra cobra bastante originalidad y fuerza dentro de lo que es una novela de náufragos, hasta el punto de resultar un poco Dickensiana y todo.
Como no quiero desvelar más de la trama, ya que se trata de una novela poco conocida y por tanto poco divulgada, creo que vale la pena leerla si te gustan las novelas de náufragos y de aventuras.
La primera mitad se la pasa explorando el resto de la isla, menos una parte que tendrá importancia especial al final (no, no es Nemo). La verdad es que es un poco truño, pero a partir de ahí la obra cobra bastante originalidad y fuerza dentro de lo que es una novela de náufragos, hasta el punto de resultar un poco Dickensiana y todo.
Como no quiero desvelar más de la trama, ya que se trata de una novela poco conocida y por tanto poco divulgada, creo que vale la pena leerla si te gustan las novelas de náufragos y de aventuras.
November 15, 2023
I’ve read quite a few Jules Verne novels but almost exclusively those in the sci-fi / fantasy genre. Those books were creative and enjoyable.
The first half of this book started off decent, with an interesting adventure tale, but I couldn’t get any enjoyment out of the second half.
Admittedly the prevailing attitudes at the time may have been different (the version I read was copywritten in 1924), but in this case I don’t think there was any way to look past the racist / colonialist references. There were a dozen other ways he could have taken the story and he chose the worst one.
After reading it I can see why it’s rare with hardly any reprints; this story is better off just staying in the past.
The first half of this book started off decent, with an interesting adventure tale, but I couldn’t get any enjoyment out of the second half.
Admittedly the prevailing attitudes at the time may have been different (the version I read was copywritten in 1924), but in this case I don’t think there was any way to look past the racist / colonialist references. There were a dozen other ways he could have taken the story and he chose the worst one.
After reading it I can see why it’s rare with hardly any reprints; this story is better off just staying in the past.
March 26, 2025
The final book by Jules Verne about the Swiss family Robinson.
The protagonists (part of the family) are returning to New Switzerland from the Great Britain and are marooned by mutineers on the ship.
The conclusion is a typical Verne plot twist which I will not reveal.
The protagonists (part of the family) are returning to New Switzerland from the Great Britain and are marooned by mutineers on the ship.
The conclusion is a typical Verne plot twist which I will not reveal.
October 12, 2025
Δε με ενθουσίασε, αλλά καταλαβαίνω τι ήθελε να κάνει ο (τεράστιος) συγγραφέας του. Πέρασα καλά διαβάζοντάς το, αλλά περίμενα περισσότερα
August 22, 2022
(47) Seconde Patrie (The Castaways of the Flag, aka Second Fatherland, 1900) (2 volumes) 118K words
The 47th Extraordinary Voyage is a sequel to Johann Wyss' novel "The Swiss Family Robinson". It's a story about sailing and castaways, but also about the founding of a colony. It's the second and last Verne novel written as a sequel to a work by another writer (the first was "An Antarctic Mystery", a sequel to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket").
Be careful if reading an English version, because the novel was initially translated as two separate books, the first one titled "Their Island Home" and the second "The Castaways of the Flag". Later editions included the whole novel with the title "The Castaways of the Flag" or "Second Fatherland". Therefore, if you get an older book titled "The Castaways of the Flag" you may be getting only the second part of this Verne novel. That's the case, for example, with the free version of "The Castaways of the Flag" available at Project Gutenberg: it's only the second half. If your version has 32 chapters and begins in the island of New Switzerland, with the arrival of the British ship Licorne (Unicorn), then you are reading the complete Verne novel. If your version has 16 chapters and begins with a chapter called "The Castaways", on a boat with a group of castaways at sea, then you only have the second half.
First read or reread?: First read for me.
What is it about?: The story begins by retelling the last chapter of "The Swiss Family Robinson", with the arrival of the Unicorn, a British corvette commanded by Lieutenant Littlestone, whose commission includes the exploration of the waters in which New Switzerland is situated. No longer isolated from the rest of humanity, the former castaways intend to keep living on their island, which has become their home, and start a colony there. For that, some of the members of the family will travel to Europe, while the rest remain on New Switzerland to complete the exploration of the island and prepare it to receive new colonists.
First, I have to say that reading "The Swiss Family Robinson" is not required to understand this novel. Just as he did in "An Antarctic Mystery", Verne gives the reader all the information needed to follow the story. In fact, chapters 4 and 5 of this novel are an extended summary of the events told in "The Swiss Family Robinson". In the case of "An Antarctic Mystery", I recommended reading the Poe novel first, just for reading pleasure. In this case, I don't necessarily recommend reading "The Swiss Family Robinson" first, since I did not enjoy it that much (see my review). But that's just my taste, and your mileage may vary.
Like what happened with Poe's novel in "An Antartic Mystery", Verne presents here "The Swiss Family Robinson" as a real, non-fiction book, based on the journals of Jean Zermatt (the father of the family originally stranded in New Switzerland).
I mentioned in my review of "The Swiss Family Robinson" that I expected the Verne sequel to be better, and it was. Mainly, it was a relief that instead of a collection of random encounters, we have here a traditional novel, with a plot, characters who make long-term projects and carry them out in a logical manner.
The first half of the novel starts with the arrival and departure of the Licorne, and then it involves the original castaways and their new friends the Wolstons preparing New Switzerland to receive more colonists. This part was OK, but it lacked the spark of the best Verne stories, mainly because a story about castaways, where survival is at stake, naturally has more tension than a story about former castaways who have rejoined human civilization and are now working on projects like making a new canal to improve irrigation in order to help feed a future colony. Of course, Verne had already told stories about castaways from the beginning (see "The Mysterious Island", "Two Years' Vacation" and, on a lighter note, "Godfrey Morgan"), but this post-castaways situation is more low-key compared to that.
Fortunately, we move on to an exploration trip to discover the layout of the island, something that inexplicably had not been done in "The Swiss Family Robinson", despite the castaways being there for twelve years. This part was more interesting, including the attempt to ascend the highest peak of the central mountain range, although this is still not the heart of the novel.
The discovery of a group of hostile... well, not "natives", since they are newly-arrived to the island, so let's call them "savages", as the novel does, seeks to add tension to the story. This plot element felt a bit too trope-ish to me, the easy way to add danger on a desert island. Also forced, because, where had these savages come from? If it was from a nearby island, how is it that they had not discovered and colonized New Switzerland, a large and fertile island, much earlier? And if, as the novel suggests, they came from far away and had made a very long canoe trip, how come the group was so numerous?
Then, the second half of the novel, concentrating more on the characters who had left the island to go to Europe, turns out to be the most interesting. The original title of the novel translates to "Second Homeland", and I thought the English title ("The Castaways of the Flag") made reference to the original castaways on New Switzerland, with the "flag" being the banner they had flying at the islet on Deliverance Bay. However, it turns out we get another group of castaways, and the Flag is the name of the ship where there's a mutiny resulting in these characters being abandoned on a boat. Talk about bad luck, some of them becoming castaways for a second time!
I found this part of the story very enjoyable, compensating for the more laid-back beginning.
One thing I was curious about was whether Verne would retcon the surprising variety of animals on New Switzerland. He does not, although he places less emphasis on that. Of course, just like in Wyss' novel, the attitudes towards hunting and killing animals is 19th century rather than modern. This book was published in 1900, almost forty years after "Five Weeks in a Balloon", but Verne's attitude in that sense has not really changed during that time. This can be shocking for modern readers, but it's also authentic. The idea of protecting endangered species would have been an anachronism.
The same can be said about attitudes towards the "savages". The ones in this novel are depicted as an uncivilized, hostile enemy. Of course, it makes sense for the characters to defend themselves, but the attitude towards them is shown by how they keep shooting at the savages even after they have been defeated and are in retreat. Not they way it would have been written today, but it was the prevalent worldview at the time, even for an otherwise humanist writer.
Enjoyment factor: I did enjoy it. I thought the first part lacked some spark, and wondered if maybe it was a natural decline because of the author's old age, but it got better, and ended up being an entertaining adventure novel.
Next up: The Village in the Treetops
See all my Verne reviews here: https://www.sffworld.com/forum/thread...
The 47th Extraordinary Voyage is a sequel to Johann Wyss' novel "The Swiss Family Robinson". It's a story about sailing and castaways, but also about the founding of a colony. It's the second and last Verne novel written as a sequel to a work by another writer (the first was "An Antarctic Mystery", a sequel to Edgar Allan Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket").
Be careful if reading an English version, because the novel was initially translated as two separate books, the first one titled "Their Island Home" and the second "The Castaways of the Flag". Later editions included the whole novel with the title "The Castaways of the Flag" or "Second Fatherland". Therefore, if you get an older book titled "The Castaways of the Flag" you may be getting only the second part of this Verne novel. That's the case, for example, with the free version of "The Castaways of the Flag" available at Project Gutenberg: it's only the second half. If your version has 32 chapters and begins in the island of New Switzerland, with the arrival of the British ship Licorne (Unicorn), then you are reading the complete Verne novel. If your version has 16 chapters and begins with a chapter called "The Castaways", on a boat with a group of castaways at sea, then you only have the second half.
First read or reread?: First read for me.
What is it about?: The story begins by retelling the last chapter of "The Swiss Family Robinson", with the arrival of the Unicorn, a British corvette commanded by Lieutenant Littlestone, whose commission includes the exploration of the waters in which New Switzerland is situated. No longer isolated from the rest of humanity, the former castaways intend to keep living on their island, which has become their home, and start a colony there. For that, some of the members of the family will travel to Europe, while the rest remain on New Switzerland to complete the exploration of the island and prepare it to receive new colonists.
First, I have to say that reading "The Swiss Family Robinson" is not required to understand this novel. Just as he did in "An Antarctic Mystery", Verne gives the reader all the information needed to follow the story. In fact, chapters 4 and 5 of this novel are an extended summary of the events told in "The Swiss Family Robinson". In the case of "An Antarctic Mystery", I recommended reading the Poe novel first, just for reading pleasure. In this case, I don't necessarily recommend reading "The Swiss Family Robinson" first, since I did not enjoy it that much (see my review). But that's just my taste, and your mileage may vary.
Like what happened with Poe's novel in "An Antartic Mystery", Verne presents here "The Swiss Family Robinson" as a real, non-fiction book, based on the journals of Jean Zermatt (the father of the family originally stranded in New Switzerland).
I mentioned in my review of "The Swiss Family Robinson" that I expected the Verne sequel to be better, and it was. Mainly, it was a relief that instead of a collection of random encounters, we have here a traditional novel, with a plot, characters who make long-term projects and carry them out in a logical manner.
The first half of the novel starts with the arrival and departure of the Licorne, and then it involves the original castaways and their new friends the Wolstons preparing New Switzerland to receive more colonists. This part was OK, but it lacked the spark of the best Verne stories, mainly because a story about castaways, where survival is at stake, naturally has more tension than a story about former castaways who have rejoined human civilization and are now working on projects like making a new canal to improve irrigation in order to help feed a future colony. Of course, Verne had already told stories about castaways from the beginning (see "The Mysterious Island", "Two Years' Vacation" and, on a lighter note, "Godfrey Morgan"), but this post-castaways situation is more low-key compared to that.
Fortunately, we move on to an exploration trip to discover the layout of the island, something that inexplicably had not been done in "The Swiss Family Robinson", despite the castaways being there for twelve years. This part was more interesting, including the attempt to ascend the highest peak of the central mountain range, although this is still not the heart of the novel.
The discovery of a group of hostile... well, not "natives", since they are newly-arrived to the island, so let's call them "savages", as the novel does, seeks to add tension to the story. This plot element felt a bit too trope-ish to me, the easy way to add danger on a desert island. Also forced, because, where had these savages come from? If it was from a nearby island, how is it that they had not discovered and colonized New Switzerland, a large and fertile island, much earlier? And if, as the novel suggests, they came from far away and had made a very long canoe trip, how come the group was so numerous?
Then, the second half of the novel, concentrating more on the characters who had left the island to go to Europe, turns out to be the most interesting. The original title of the novel translates to "Second Homeland", and I thought the English title ("The Castaways of the Flag") made reference to the original castaways on New Switzerland, with the "flag" being the banner they had flying at the islet on Deliverance Bay. However, it turns out we get another group of castaways, and the Flag is the name of the ship where there's a mutiny resulting in these characters being abandoned on a boat. Talk about bad luck, some of them becoming castaways for a second time!
I found this part of the story very enjoyable, compensating for the more laid-back beginning.
One thing I was curious about was whether Verne would retcon the surprising variety of animals on New Switzerland. He does not, although he places less emphasis on that. Of course, just like in Wyss' novel, the attitudes towards hunting and killing animals is 19th century rather than modern. This book was published in 1900, almost forty years after "Five Weeks in a Balloon", but Verne's attitude in that sense has not really changed during that time. This can be shocking for modern readers, but it's also authentic. The idea of protecting endangered species would have been an anachronism.
The same can be said about attitudes towards the "savages". The ones in this novel are depicted as an uncivilized, hostile enemy. Of course, it makes sense for the characters to defend themselves, but the attitude towards them is shown by how they keep shooting at the savages even after they have been defeated and are in retreat. Not they way it would have been written today, but it was the prevalent worldview at the time, even for an otherwise humanist writer.
Enjoyment factor: I did enjoy it. I thought the first part lacked some spark, and wondered if maybe it was a natural decline because of the author's old age, but it got better, and ended up being an entertaining adventure novel.
Next up: The Village in the Treetops
See all my Verne reviews here: https://www.sffworld.com/forum/thread...
January 5, 2026
è un romanzo che segue la famiglia di coloni svizzeri Zermatt nell'isola di Kerguelen, che loro trasformano in una prospera colonia e una "seconda patria", fondando una nuova società che mescola elementi svizzeri, inglesi e locali
October 27, 2025
Este libro es una secuela de un libro de otro autor ("El Robinson Suizo" de Johann David Wyss). No lo sabía pero se menciona en el prefacio. No leí el otro libro y no pienso leerlo, pero en general creo que no es necesario. Sí ayudaría leerlo para ubicar las regiones del lugar donde viven, pero no es esencial para entender la trama.
Se continúa la historia del naufragio de la familia Zermatt (del libro original), encuentra una chica que también naufragó pero de otro barco y los "rescatan" (más bien llega un barco y sólo unos se van y otros se quedan). Esta parte no me gustó mucho. Después hay un seguimiento a la historia de los que dejaron la isla. Esa parte se me hizo mucho mejor.
En general un libro bueno a seca porque gran parte no me gustó del todo.
Se continúa la historia del naufragio de la familia Zermatt (del libro original), encuentra una chica que también naufragó pero de otro barco y los "rescatan" (más bien llega un barco y sólo unos se van y otros se quedan). Esta parte no me gustó mucho. Después hay un seguimiento a la historia de los que dejaron la isla. Esa parte se me hizo mucho mejor.
En general un libro bueno a seca porque gran parte no me gustó del todo.
February 15, 2014
Pointless fan fiction filled with racist stereotypes and an unbelievable turn of events. I ended up hoping the "savages" would win.
Granted the racist views and descriptions are a product of the time. I just found some of it cringe inducing.
Granted the racist views and descriptions are a product of the time. I just found some of it cringe inducing.
August 4, 2011
Dumb sequel. Could have skipped it.
Read
November 26, 2018Calificación: Un bote navegando en medio de un mar manso, amplio y favorecido por la señora fortuna.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews