Members of the DC Great Books discussion group meet on the fourth Monday of each month to discuss classics of world literature. In August, we will discuss The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. The original English translations of Verne's work tended to cut lots of political and social commentary; only in the last three decades have new, complete translations of some of them become available. For an exhaustive critical bibliography, you can go to jv.gilead.org.il/evans/VerneTrans(biblio).html. Luckily there are two recommended translations of The Mysterious Island: the Modern Library edition by Jordan Stump (also available for Kindle) and an edition by Sidney Kravitz, which is part of Wesleyan University's Early Classics of Science Fiction series. Both include illustrations. An unedited draft of Kravitz's translation is also available online.

Please contact Lawrence Brown, PhD'91, at  with any questions.