"The Blockade Runners" () is an

1865 Events January * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Fisher – Unio ...

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

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 ...

. In 1871 it was published in single volume together with novel '' A Floating City'' as a part of the '' Voyages Extraordinaires'' series (''The Extraordinary Voyages''). An English translation was published in 1874.

Plot introduction

The

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

plot centers on the exploits of a British merchant captain named James Playfair who must break the Union blockade of Charleston harbor in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

to trade supplies for cotton and, later in the book, to rescue Halliburtt, the abolitionist journalist father of a young girl held prisoner (the father, not the girl) by the Confederates. Verne's tale was inspired by reality as many ships were actually lost while acting as

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

s in and around Charleston in the early 1860s.

Adaptations

The book was produced as a radio play of the same name in 2006.The Colonial Radio Players, ''The Blockade Runners Audio CD'',

References

External links

''Les forceurs de blocus''
full original French text
17 illustrations
by

Jules Férat Jules-Descartes Férat (1829, Ham, Somme – 1906, Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents i ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blockade Runners, The 1865 short stories Short stories by Jules Verne American Civil War fiction Novels set on ships