A Drama in the Air explained

A Drama in the Air
Title Orig:Un drame dans les airs
Translator:Anne T. Wilbur
Author:Jules Verne
Country:France
Language:French
Published In:"Museé des Familles"
Pub Date:August 1851
English Pub Date:May 1852

"A Drama in the Air" (French: "Un drame dans les airs") is an adventure short story by Jules Verne. The story was first published in August 1851 under the title "Science for families. A Voyage in a Balloon" (French: "La science en famille. Un voyage en ballon") in Musée des familles with five illustrations by Alexandre de Bar.[1] In 1874, with six illustrations by Émile-Antoine Bayard, it was included in Doctor Ox, the only collection of Jules Verne's short stories published during Verne's lifetime. An English translation by Anne T. Wilbur, published in May 1852 in Sartain's Union Magazine of Literature, marked the first time a work by Jules Verne was translated into the English language.

Plot outline

Just as the narrator starts the ascent of his balloon, a stranger jumps into its car. The unexpected passenger's only intent is to take the balloon as high as it will go, even at the cost of his and pilot's life. The intruder takes advantage of the long journey to recount the history of incidents related to the epic of lighter-than-air travel.

This short story foreshadows Verne's first novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon.

English publication

The story has appeared in English translation in the following forms.[2]

As "A Voyage in a Balloon" (translated by Anne T. Wilbur):

As "A Drama in Mid-Air" (translated by Abby L. Alger):

As "A Drama in the Air" (translated by George M. Towle):

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dehs. Volker. The Complete Jules Verne Bibliography: II. Short Stories. Jules Verne Collection. Zvi Har'El. 11 February 2013. Jean-Michel Margot, Zvi Har'El. 20 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150320223108/http://jv.gilead.org.il/biblio/stories.html. dead.
  2. Evans. Arthur B.. A Bibliography of Jules Verne's English Translations. Science Fiction Studies. March 2005. XXXII:1. 95. 105–141. 11 February 2013. 30 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190530223943/http://jv.gilead.org.il/evans/VerneTrans(biblio).html. dead.