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(27) Mathias Sandorf (Mathias Sandorf, 1885) (3 volumes) 154K words


The 27th Extraordinary Voyage takes place at several different locations along the shores of the Mediterranean. Verne dedicated the novel to the memory of Alexandre Dumas père, expressing his hope that Mathias Sandorf would be the Monte Cristo of his Extraordinary Voyages. After the dedication, the book also includes a warm response from Alexandre Dumas fils, calling Verne his brother and the true literary heir of his father.


First read or reread?: First read for me.


What is it about?: In Trieste, 1867, three Hungarian patriots (Count Mathias Sandorf, Stephen Bathory and Ladislas Zathmar) are conspiring to liberate their country from Habsburg-Austrian rule. A couple of petty criminals, with the help of a corrupt banker, discover the plot and form a plan to deliver the conspirators to the Austrian authorities in exchange for a rich reward. Fifteen years later, the renowned physician Dr. Antekirtt sets out to avenge his friends. Enlisting the aid of two resourceful French acrobats, Pescade and Matifou, he scours the Mediterranean seeking to reward the surviving relatives of the conspirators and punish those who planned the betrayal. Rich beyond all imagination and master of an island fortress filled with advanced weaponry, Dr. Antekirtt will not rest until justice is done.


Although the details are different, there's no doubt that the central conceit of this story is taken from Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. Since Verne openly acknowledged this, I will call it a homage rather than a rip-off.

Nevertheless, when one imitates a masterpiece one is open to comparisons. And I have to say, this Verne novel is inferior to Dumas' magnum opus. I don't mean this as a way to put down this story. It's just that The Count of Monte Cristo is such an excellent adventure tale.

Mathias Sandorf does not have the same epic weight as Dumas' novel. Its characters do not have the same psychological depth. This is a known limitation of Verne as a writer. He is into adventure, exploration and the wonders of human knowledge, but not into deep characterization.

Having said that, this novel is a lot of fun to read, despite its flaws. The first part, detailing the conspiration, the betrayal and the doomed efforts of the main characters to escape their execution, is almost perfect. We get several of Verne's typical techniques, like starting the story from the point of view of the villains or the use of cryptograms (decyphering a secret message is key for the villains to find proof of the conspiration).

After that, the plotting is not as tight as in some of Verne's best novels. The story becomes a bit rambling, which allows Verne to explore different locations on the Mediterranean shores, from Trieste down the Adriatic coast, to Sicily and the shores of North Africa. "I wish my readers to learn everything they should know about the Mediterranean," Verne wrote his editor," which is why the action transports them to twenty different places". Several of the settings come from Verne's own travels, and others from his reading and research.

Like its model, Mathias Sandorf is rather convoluted and melodramatic, perhaps too much so (I did not understand, for example, why the heroes had to simulate Pierre Bathory's death even to the point of driving his aged mother to dispair, it seems drama for drama's sake. Or why Sarcany couldn't force Sava to marry him already, given that she was in his power, even if the ceremony was just a sham).

The irony of how revenge can be self-defeating is explored here less than in Monte Cristo, another reason why this novel is inferior. Verne plays it straight, not stopping to wonder whether the revenge is justified in all cases (after all, even though they are undoubtedly villains, one could argue that the betrayers owed no loyalty and, although they committed other crimes, the main reason for the revenge was that they denounced a conspiration to the authorities, even if it was just for money). Don't spend too much time feeling sorry for the villains, though, they are very bad apples, particularly the ruthless and intelligent Sarcany.

As an example of Verne's signature technological wonders, we have Dr. Antekirtt's electric ships, which the heroes use to travel fast through the Mediterranean Sea, or some of the weapons used to defend his island. Nevertheless, the main reason for this novel to be called SF&F is the fact that Dr. Antekirtt is able to use something called "magnetic hypnotism". Basically he has a superpower, which occasionally enables him to enslave the mind of some weak-willed people. Apparently the concept was popular at the time the novel was written, and Verne treats it as a legitimate scientific effect.

Despite its flaws, the story is never boring, even though it's one of Verne's longest novels (only three of his Extraordinary Voyages were published in three volumes, the others being "In Search of the Castaways" and "The Mysterious Island", both of those longer in fact than "Mathias Sandorf"). Certainly this one is nowhere as long as The Count of Monte Cristo, which Dumas, publishing it as a serial, extended more than he should have.

I read it in Spanish, but for those reading in English, a reminder: Verne's contemporary English translations were not very good, so when possible seek a modern translation, in this case the 2011 translation by Edward Brumgnach.


Enjoyment factor: I enjoyed it, acknowledging that it's not in the same league as its model. The plot was a bit rambling and melodramatic at times, but the story is epic and Verne always entertains.


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