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L'Epave du Cynthia (The Waif of the Cynthia, 1885) (1 volume) 71K words


This novel was published as cowritten by Jules Verne and Andre Laurie (pseudonym used by Paschal Grousset), but modern scholars believe the actual writing was done by Laurie and Verne's role was that of supervisor and corrector. It is not officially part of the Voyages Extraordinaires, although the edition and the type of story are similar. The story begins in Norway and eventually takes us on a sailing trip all around the Arctic Circle.


First read or reread?: First read for me.


What is it about?: Erik Hersebom is a Norwegian boy from a small fishing town, endowed with a remarkable intelligence. However, there is something else unusual about him: he does not have the characteristic physical features of the Scandinavian people. He looks like a Celt. Doctor Schwaryencrona takes him under his wing and finances his education. The doctor discovers that Erik was adopted by his family of Norwegian fishermen, after being saved from the sea when he was only a few months old, attached to a lifebuoy with the word "Cynthia". Once grown up, with the help of the Doctor, Erik will seek to elucidate the mystery of the sinking of the Cynthia to find a trace of his origins. This quest will lead him through the polar seas and Siberia.


I mentioned that this book is not part of the Extraordinary Voyages. You might wonder what this means exactly. OK, so this book was published as co-written by Verne and another writer, and nowadays scholars think the other writer probably did the actual writing. However, we have seen that the posthumous Extraordinary Voyages were modified by Michel Verne, with one of them ("The Thompson Travel Agency") possibly written by Michel alone. So then, why are those posthumous novels part of the Voyages, but not "The Waif of the Cynthia"?

The answer is that the Extraordinary Voyages is a series only in the sense that they were published with that label by Verne's publisher, Hetzel. "The Waif of the Cynthia" was also published by Hetzel, and the edition looks more or less similar to the ones used for Verne's Extraordinary Voyages. However, the publisher did not include it as part of the series, so that's why the posthumous novels and the two short story collections are part of the Voyages, while "The Waif of the Cynthia" isn't. Just a question of labels.

In my case, the collection of Verne novels that I have includes this novel, so I have also included it in my reading project. I have read it after the other novels, but actually it was published in 1885, in the middle of Verne's career.

So let's talk about the book. I have to say that I found it an enjoyable read. It's an adventure story, with a plot that wouldn't be out of place among the Extraordinary Voyages. The writing style was slightly different from Jules Verne's, which is something I did not notice in "The Thompson Travel Agency", for example.

It's not a huge difference, though, and I don't really mention it as a bad thing. There are fewer geographic descriptions, and more emotional content. There was more emphasis on the feelings of the characters, for example how Erik's adoptive family feels about his search for his biological family, and how Erik himself feels about it. Some moments are quite emotive, more than we would expect in a Verne story.

It wasn't a long novel (just one volume). I thought the pacing was good, and it kept me interested throughout. I did think at some point, when they were investigating by sending letters and discussing the responses, that I would like it if they actually travelled in person to investigate, but they quickly did just that, and once they did I have no complaint about the amount of adventure and exploring, in search of a disappeared sailor who might have relevant information. The novel reminded me a little of "In Search of the Castaways" because of the investigation element.

So the plot is very Verne-like, and the style, while not the exactly the same, is not that different. It's similar to Verne's adventure stories, without any speculative element.

One thing that was similar to Verne is how it foreshadows which characters are villains. This is something that is quite Verne-like. The character-related twists in Verne's novels often do not come as a surprise, which is something some modern readers complain about, but I have come to accept as part of his storytelling style.


Enjoyment factor: I enjoyed it. It was more emotional than most Extraordinary Voyages, but in terms of quality it was a good adventure story and it could have easily been part of the series, even if it wouldn't be among Verne's most innovative novels.