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(31) Le Chemin de France (The Flight to France, 1887) (1 volume) 57K words


With the 31st novel we reach the middle of the Extraordinary Voyages (there are sixty-two novels in the series, counting the eight posthumous ones). This is the third of the four historical novels that Verne wrote, the others being "The Archipelago on Fire", "North Against South" and "Family Without a Name". In this case, we travel to Prussia, from where the heroes will have to escape back to France.


First read or reread?: First read for me.


What is it about?: Natalis Delpierre, a Captain in the French Army, recounts his adventures in the summer of 1792 when he went to visit his sister, Irma, who was living in Prussia in the service of Madame Keller and her son Jean. The time of his visit coincides with rumors of France and Germany going to war. When war does break out, Jean Keller is forced to join the Prussian Army and serve under the man who is his rival for the attention of Mademoiselle Martha de Lauranay, a man he was scheduled to duel. Due to a decree expelling French nationals, Martha, her father, Irma and Natalis are forced to leave Prussia and go back to France. Meanwhile, Jean strikes his rival and superior officer, and becomes a fugitive.


Although the vast majority of Verne's novels are told in third person, from time to one he wrote one in first person, to good effect. As I have commented before, I enjoy Verne's characters, always kind of proper and Victorian, but I would be the first to admit that character work is not his focus or his strongest point. Therefore, a narrative resource that brings the reader closer to the main character can be helpful. "The Survivors of the Chancellor" is an example of a novel that I think is improved by being told in first person.

In this case, I enjoyed the voice of the narrator, who is quite idiosyncratic. He is a soldier of very humble origins, a patriot but not a militarist. His language is simple but sympathetic and full of common sense, using a lot of interjections and idioms.

The story takes place in 1792, during the French Revolution, at the time of the proclamation of the First Republic and the start of the French Revolutionary Wars. When Louis XVI was deposed and the constitutional monarchy ended, war broke out between France and several European powers (the First Coalition). Although these historical events in France are quite interesting, it's not really what the novel is about, and we only hear of them from what the narrator tells us.

Instead the action takes place in Prussia, where several French expatriates are left in a precarious situation when the war starts. Expelled from Prussia, they are given a short time to leave. One of them is wanted by the Prussian justice, and codemned to death in absentia.

Verne has always been patriotic in his writing. He often has one French character and speaks of French people with sympathy, but it's unusual for him to have a mostly-French cast, and this novel is more patriotic than any of his previous ones. Most of the action takes place in Prussia, but France is the objective to be reached, representing safety and freedom. I commented in my review of "The Begum's Millions" that although the heroes of an early Verne novel ("Journey to the Center of the Earth") were German, Verne became bitter about Germany after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, which had resulted in the defeat of France, the unification of Germany and the establishment of the Second Reich. We see that bitterness here, since the author gives a mostly negative image of Prussian people, although admitting some of their good qualities (as the narrator says in the novel, it was not in courage where the Prussian soldiers were lacking).

With the momentous events going on at the time the novel is set, the adventure is relatively low-key. The first half does not have much action, and it's mostly a family story about a Prussian officer who interferes with a young couple who are in love with each other. Then the flight to France we are promised in the title starts, and it becomes more eventful, culminating with the Battle of Valmy.

But, even during the slower first half, I thought the pace was fine, better in that sense than the first part of the previous novel ("North Against South"). This is a rather short novel and I found it readable and entertaining.


Enjoyment factor: I enjoyed it. This is one of those shorter Verne novels that maintain a good pace. This was less epic than the previous two Verne historical novels, in the sense that it tells a smaller story, affecting only a few characters and separate from the great scheme of things, but I did not perceive that as a negative. I appreciate these historical novels, even though the Verne stories I enjoy more are the ones that involve farway journeys and unkown lands.


Next up: Two Years' Vacation