''Godfrey Morgan: A Californian Mystery'' (, literally ''The School for Robinsons''), also published as ''School for Crusoes'', is an 1882

adventure novel Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the introduction to the ''Encycloped ...

by French writer

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

. The novel tells of a wealthy young man, Godfrey Morgan, who, with his deportment instructor, Professor T. Artelett, embark from

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, on a round-the-world ocean voyage. They are cast away on an uninhabited Pacific island, where they must endure a series of adversities. Later, they encounter an

African slave Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were once commonplace in parts of Africa, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient and medieval world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Red Sea s ...

, Carefinotu, brought to the island by cannibals. In the end, the trio manage to work together and survive on the island. The novel is a robinsonade – a play on

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

's 1719 novel ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...

''.

Plot summary

The narrative begins with the auction by the

US Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

of the fictional Spencer Island, located 460 miles off the California coast (). The island is uninhabited and there are only two bidders: William W. Kolderup, a very wealthy San Franciscan, and his arch-rival J. R. Taskinar, a resident of

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

. Kolderup wins the auction, buying Spencer Island for four million dollars. Taskinar mutters, "I will be avenged!" before retiring to his hotel. Godfrey, an idle twenty-two-year-old, lives with Kolderup (his uncle) and Kolderup's adopted god-daughter, Phina, whom Godfrey has grown to love. Prior to marrying Phina, Godfrey asks to undertake a world tour. Acceding to his nephew's desire, Kolderup sends Godfrey on a sea voyage around the world, aboard one of his

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s, the ''Dream'', commanded by Captain Turcott. Godfrey is accompanied by his mentor, teacher, and dance instructor, Professor T. Artelett (aka "Tartlet"). After some time at sea, Godfrey is awakened one foggy night and told to abandon ship as the ''Dream'' is foundering. After jumping into the sea, Godfrey is washed ashore on a deserted island, where he soon finds Tartlet has also been

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

ed. Godfrey, with scant help from Tartlet, will have to learn to survive, organize his life, face hostile intruders, and overcome other obstacles. Eventually, they are also joined by the African slave Carefinotu, whom Godfrey rescues from Polynesian warriors visiting the island. By the end of the story, the formerly-jaded Godfrey has discovered the value of independent effort, and he gains poise and courage. The marooned group are rescued and returned to San Francisco, where Godfrey is reunited with Phina. They agree to marry before continuing Godfrey's world tour, this time together.

Theme

Although the setting is different, the robinsonade plot is a variation on the theme of rational self-sufficiency that Verne developed earlier in '' The Mysterious Island'' (1874). At the time of publication, it was common for a young man of wealth to undertake travel as an educational

rite of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of social status, status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisa ...

; for example, the California heir Leland Stanford, Jr. took two European Grand Tours: one in 1880-81, and the second in 1884, during which he died. The original French version of Verne's novel was published in 1882, after Stanford's first tour.

Film adaptation

The novel was adapted (very loosely) as a 1981 USA/Spain co-production by director Juan Piquer Simón, titled ''Jules Verne's Mystery on Monster Island'' (), starring

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...

and

Terence Stamp Terence Henry Stamp (born 22 July 1938) is an English actor. Known for his sophisticated villain roles, he was named by ''Empire (magazine), Empire'' as one of the 100 Sexiest Film Stars of All Time in 1995. He has received various accolades in ...

, with David Hatton, Ian Sera,

Paul Naschy Jacinto Molina Álvarez (September 6, 1934 – November 30, 2009) known by his stage name Paul Naschy, was a Spanish film actor, screenwriter, and director working primarily in horror films. His portrayals of numerous classic horror figures&md ...

, Blanca Estrada, Ana Obregón, and Frank Braña in supporting roles. Monsters, prominently included as an element in the film (and which are also fake made by famous toymakers), were absent from the novel, in which the

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

J. R. Taskinar introduces non-indigenous

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they ar ...

s to the island to take revenge on Kolderup for his auction win. Despite its similar title, the film has no connection with the better-known Verne novel '' The Mysterious Island'' (1875), though some reviewers have disregarded this. Peter Cushing and Paul Naschy both have very brief cameo appearances in the film, and do not share any scenes. In 2007, the film was released on DVD by 20th Century Fox as part of a

double feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...

with '' Gorilla at Large'' (1954).FoxStore.com
"Gorilla at Large/Mystery at Monster Island Double Feature." Retrieved on 2009-08-13.

Notes

External links

* (English) *

summary and cover images *

Plot summary

Theme

Film adaptation

Notes

External links

See also