Robur-the-Conqueror (Robur-le-Conquérant in original French) is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne, published in 1886. It is also known as The Clipper of the Clouds. It has a sequel, Master of the World, which was published in 1904. Jules Verne. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) book is bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth or heavy paper) and a stitched spine. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Jules Verne. ... 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... Master of the World was published in 1904, one of the last novels by French pioneer science fiction writer, Jules Verne. ... Year 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Plot summary

The story begins with strange lights and sounds, including blaring trumpet music, reported in the skies all over the world. The events are capped by the mysterious appearance of black flags with gold suns atop tall historic landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. These events are all the work of the mysterious Robur, a brilliant inventor who intrudes on a meeting of a flight-enthusiast's club called the Weldon Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For other freedom monuments, see Monument of Liberty. ... The Great Pyramid is the oldest and the largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now Cairo, Egypt in Africa. ... Eiffel tower on Bastille Day The Eiffel Tower (French: , ) is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the River Seine in Paris, France. ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ...

Members of the Weldon Institute are all firm believers that mankind shall master the skies using “lighter than air” craft, and that "heavier than air" craft such as airplanes and helicopters would be unfeasible. The institute has been constructing a giant dirigible called the Goahead, and are having a heated discussion of where to place its propeller (in front to pull it, or behind to push it) when Robur is admitted to speak to them. Robur chastises the group for being balloon-boosters when "heavier than air" flying apparatuses are the future. When asked if Robur himself has "made conquest of the air," he states that he has, leading to him accepting the title "Robur the Conqueror." During his short time at the Weldon Institute Robur so incenses the members that they chase him outside and are about to attack him. Robur then seemingly vanishes to the mob, but he has actually been borne away in a flying machine. Balloons, like greeting cards or flowers, are given for special occasions. ... This article refers to the tool of travel. ... A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more large horizontal rotors (propellers). ... Dirigible can refer to : an airship -- a lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ...

Later that night Robur kidnaps the Weldon Institute's secretary, president, and the president’s valet. He takes them on board his ship, a huge vessel called the Albatross which has many vertical propellers so as to operate similar to a helicopter, and horizontal propellers to provide lateral movement. It bears the same black flag with golden sun that has been sighted on so many landmarks, and the music in the sky is explained to be one of the crewmen playing a trumpet. To demonstrate the vessel's superiority Robur takes his captives around the world in the course of three weeks. The president and secretary are angry at Robur for kidnapping them and unwilling to admit that the Albatross is a fantastic vessel, or that their notions of "lighter than air" superiority are wrong. They demand that Robur release them, but he is aloof and always says that they shall remain as long as he desires it. Fearing they will be held captive forever, the two formulate plans to both escape and destroy the Albatross. Genera Diomedea Thalassarche Phoebastria Phoebetria Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). ... To circumnavigate a place, such as an island, a continent, or the Earth, is to travel all the way around it by boat or ship. ...

After the horizontal propellers are damaged in a storm, the Albatross is anchored over the Chatham Islands for repairs. While the crew is busy at work the two Weldon Institute members light a fuse and make their escape. They try to bring the valet with them but can not find him, only later discovering that the coward had escaped already without them. The Albatross explodes and its wreckage, along with Robur and his crew, plunge into the ocean. Meanwhile the three escapees are safe on a small but inhabited island and are later rescued by a ship, then make a long journey back to Philadelphia. The Chatham Islands from space. ...

The Weldon Institute members return and rather than describe their adventures or admit that Robur had created a flying machine greater than their expectations of the Goahead, they simply conclude the argument the group was having during their last meeting. Rather than have only one propeller to their dirigible, they decide to have one propeller in front and another behind. Seven months after their return the Goahead is completed and making its maiden voyage with the president, secretary, and an aeronaut. The speed and maneuverability of the dirigible marvels a huge crowd, but are trivial if compared to Robur’s Albatross. Suddenly, out of the sky there appears the Albatross. It is revealed that when the Albatross exploded, enough of it was intact so that at least some of the propellers operated and slowed its descent, saving the crew. The crew used the remains of the Albatross as a raft until they were rescued by a ship. Later, Robur and the crew made it back to his secret X Island, where the original Albatross was built. Robur has built a new Albatross and now intends to exact revenge by showing it is superior to the Weldon Institute’s Goahead.

As an earthbound crowd watches in horror, the Albatross completes several moves, nearly ramming the Goahead. Fearing it is under attack, the Goahead makes horizontal, then vertical, maneuvers to avoid being hit. The Goahead is obviously at the Albatross’s mercy, however, as the Goahead is too slow. The Goahead then ascends very high into the sky in the hope of losing the Albatross, but its balloon bursts. As it falls the Albatross matches its speed and saves the occupants. In warfare, ramming is a technique that was used in the air, sea and tank combat. ...

Having shown his dominance of the skies, Robur returns the three men to the ground and says that nations are not yet fit to know his secrets. He leaves with the promise that someday he will reveal his secrets of flight.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The story was made into a 1961 movie, Master of the World, with Vincent Price as Robur. The movie kept the basic concept but added elements of intrigue and a romance to the plot. 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Master of the World is a 1961 science fiction film based upon the Jules Verne novels Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World. ... Vincent Leonard Price Jr. ...

In this version, Robur is an idealist who plans to conquer the world in order to put an end to tyranny and war. Using the Albatross he plans to bomb the nations of the world until he is acknowledged its ruler. The aerial bombing of cities became a common tactic in World War II. On April 26, 1937, the German Luftwaffe (Condor Legion) bombed the Spanish city of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. ...

Instead of the Weldon Institute members he kidnaps Mr. Prudent and his lovely daughter Dorothy. Charles Bronson plays Strock, the reluctant hero who comes to admire Robur. For other persons named Charles Bronson, see Charles Bronson (disambiguation). ...

Comic Book

A graphic novel trilogy by writers Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier and artist Gil Formosa: Trade paperback of Will Eisners A Contract with God (1978), often mistakenly cited as the first graphic novel. ... A trilogy is a set of three works of art, usually literature or film, that are connected and can generally be seen as a single work as well as three individual ones. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Jean-Marc Lofficier (born June 22, 1954) is a French Occitan author of books about films and television programs, as well as numerous comic books and translations of a number of animation screenplays. ... Jean-Marc Lofficier (born June 22, 1954) is a French author of books about film and television programs, as well as numerous comic books and translations of a number of animation screenplays. ... Look up artist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

• Volume 1 De la Lune à la Terre (Albin Michel, 2003) (From the Moon to the Earth, Heavy Metal, December 2003)
• Volume 2 20.000 Ans sous les Mers (Albin Michel, 2004) (20,000 Years Under the Seas, Heavy Metal, Fall 2005)
• Volume 3 Voyage au Centre de la Lune (Albin Michel, 2005) (Journey to the Center of the Moon)

In it, Robur (who is also an alias of Captain Nemo) is the leader of the resistance when H. G. Wells' Selenites invade the Earth. Other fictional characters which appear in the series include Fantômas, Josephine Balsamo, The Shadow and Professor Cavor. Jean-Michel Nicollets cover for the first issue. ... A pseudonym (Greek pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons true name. ... // Captain Nemos first appearance Captain Nemo is a fictional character featured in Jules Vernes novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and The Mysterious Island (1874). ... Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946), better known as H. G. Wells, was an English writer best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and The Island of Doctor Moreau. ... Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... A poster for an early Fantômas film. ... Joséphine Balsamo a. ... Who knows what evil lurks. ...

Also Batman: Master of the Future, by Brian Augustyn and Eduardo Barreto, is part of DC Comics' Elseworlds series. The story mixes Batman, in a Victorian-era setting with the film Master of the World. Brian Augustyn is a comic book editor and writer. ... Eduardo Barreto is an artist who has worked in the comic book industry. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Elseworlds logo. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Ascension to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... Master of the World is a 1961 science fiction film based upon the Jules Verne novels Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World. ...

External links

• Robur the Conqueror from JV.Gilead.org.il
• Robur the Conqueror (English)
• Gallery of images, from the 1886 edition, from the Smithsonian Institute.
• Master of the World at the Internet Movie Database, starring Vincent Price as Robur

The Smithsonian castle, as seen through the garden gate. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about motion pictures, actors, movie stars, TV shows, TV stars, production crew personnel, movie pictures, cast, crew as well as video games. ... Vincent Leonard Price Jr. ... In Celtic mythology, Robur was the god of oak trees, worshipped primarily in Gaul alongside Abellio, Fagus and Buxenus. ...

See also

• Mystery airship