"The Blockade Runners" (french: Les forceurs de blocus) is an

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at Broad Street (Manhattan), 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Sec ...

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

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 ''A Floating City,'' or sometimes translated ''The Floating City,'' (french: Une ville flottante) is an adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne first published in 1871 in France. At the time of its publication, the novel enjoyed a similar le ...

'' as a part of the '' Voyages Extraordinaires'' series (''The Extraordinary Voyages''). An English translation was published in 1874.

Plot introduction

The American Civil War plot centers on the exploits of a British merchant captain named James Playfair who must break the Union blockade of

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

harbor in South Carolina 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 usuall ...

s in and around

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) was a French artist and illustrator, famous for his portrayals of factories and their workers. He illustrated the books of many known authors, such as Jules Verne, Edgar Allan Poe, an ...

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