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(52) Un drame en Livonie (A Drama in Livonia, 1904) (1 volume) 54K words


The 52nd Extraordinary Voyages takes us to the Baltic states (at that time, Livonia was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia). Rather than a travelogue, adventure story or science fiction, this is a suspense story, a crime drama with political elements. Other Verne novels taking place in the Russian Empire include "Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar" and, partially, "César Cascabel".


First read or reread?: First read for me.


What is it about?: In the Russian governorate of Livonia, there are ethnic and social tensions between the population of German origin, mainly making up the aristocracy and and upper middle class, and those of Slavic origin, mainly lower classes. The Germans have more wealth and political power, but the Russian government is following a policy of Russification, trying to put more of that political power in Slavic hands. In the upcoming elections in the city of Riga, professor Dimitri Nicolef is expected to become the candidate of the the Slavs. However, these plans are derailed when a bank employee who was transporting money is murdered at the inn of the Broken Cross. The victim was about to get married, which further moved public opinion. Soon, professor Nicolef becomes the main suspect. He was the only person present, apart from the innkeeper. It is also discovered that the professor owed a large sum of money to the Johausen bankers, leaders of the German faction in the next election. Moreover, the professor refuses to reveal why he was traveling, which only increases the suspicions against him. From that point, he and his family are subjected to intense pressure from the police investigators and from the citizens, causing much suffering.


After a rather lackluster novel ("Travel Scholarships"), the Extraordinary Voyages get back in shape with "A Drama in Livonia". Although published in 1904, one year before Verne's death, it seems this novel was actually written ten years earlier, in 1894. More on that later.

This novel is quite short and, unlike "Travel Scholarships", it's never boring. It starts in the middle of the action, with a political prisoner who had escaped from Siberia being pursued by the police. Then we are introduced to the main characters of this drama and witness the circumstances surrounding the crime and the ensuing investigations and political tensions.

The sympathetic way in which the Nicolef family is presented makes us readers think that professor Dimitri Nicolef is innocent, but damning proof starts to accumulate, making us doubt.

It's a different type of story from other Verne novels, a crime drama that is mostly interested in the effects of the situation on the suspect and his family. It's a fast read and has a good pace. You can notice that it's designed to be published as a serial, as many chapters end with a twist or cliff-hanger. In fact, most Verne novels were serialized in the "Magasin d’Education et de Récréation" before being published in book form, but this serialized origin is more noticeable in this one.

The main weakness is that the ending is quite sudden, and a bit of a deus ex machina to reveal the truth of what happened. Because of that, I can not consider it a detective or police procedural novel, as the focus is not on how the truth is uncovered.

For a time, it was thought that this story had been inspired by the Dreyfus affair. It's mostly the story of a man under intense suspicion, the political tensions surrounding the case and the possibility of a miscarriage of justice that reminds us of the Dreyfus affair, although the novel does not have the antisemitic elements and the circumstances are different, the accusation being murder and robbery instead of treason. However, modern understanding is that it was written just before the start of the Dreyfus affair, so the similarities would be coincidence. The publication of the novel was delayed ten years, perhaps to avoid being seen as commentary on that real-life situation.

I found the depiction of the social conflicts in Livonia interesting, although I don't know how accurate they were. Perhaps not much because, unlike in many of his works, the descriptions of the the country where the story is set are superficial. This may be just a result of the novel being so short, or a sign that Verne had done less work of documentation. Verne presents the German faction in a much more negative light than the Slavic one, which I see as part of the author's antipathy against Germany, an antipathy that was born after the Franco-Prussian war and that can be noticed in several of his novels.

The tone is perhaps darker than in most Verne stories. The crime investigation element with a possibly innocent suspect reminded me of "The Kip Brothers", although this novel lacks the element of sea travel and, unlike in "The Kip Brothers", here we do not find out what really happened until the end.


Enjoyment factor: I enjoyed it, although the resolution was rushed. It was short, with a decent pace. The kind of plot and the tone is different from what you would expect in a more typical Verne novel. Not among his greatest works, but a fine late effort.


Next up: Master of the World