''The Begum's Fortune'' (, literally "the 500 millions of the

begum Begum (also begüm, bagum, begom, begam, baigum or beygum) is an honorific title from Central Asia, Central and South Asia, often used by leading women in society, including Royal family, royals, aristocrats, first lady, first ladies and prime ...

"), also published as ''The Begum's Millions'', is an

1879 Events January * January 1 ** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. ** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...

novel by

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 ...

, with some

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

n elements and other elements that seem clearly

dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...

Plot summary

Two men inherit a vast fortune as descendants of a French soldier who settled in India and married the immensely rich widow of a native prince, the

of the title. One is a French physician, Doctor Sarrasin. The other is a German scientist, Professor Schultze. Each man decides to establish a

n model city. The United States government cedes to each heir its sovereignty over a tract of land for the creation of his city. Sarrasin builds Ville-France on the western side of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

, with public health as its government's primary concern. Schultze, a

militarist Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

and

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

, builds Stahlstadt on the east side, a vast industrial and mining complex, devoted to the production of ever more powerful and destructive weapons—and vows to destroy Sarrasin's city. Most of the action takes place in Stahlstadt, which becomes in a few years the world's biggest producer of arms. Schultze is Stahlstadt's dictator, whose very word is law and who makes all significant decisions personally. An Alsatian named Marcel Bruckmann relocates to Stahlstadt, and quickly rises high in its hierarchy, gains Schultze's personal confidence, spies out some well-kept secrets, and sends a warning to his French friends. It turns out that Schultze is not content to produce arms, but fully intends to use them first against Ville-France, then establish Germany's worldwide rule. Two weapons are being produced—a super-cannon capable of firing massive incendiary charges to Ville-France, and shells filled with gas. Schultze's gas is designed not only to suffocate its victims but at the same time also freeze them. Unfortunately for Schultze, the incendiary charge fired by the super-cannon at Ville-France not only renders the cannon unusable but also misses its mark. The charge flies over the city and into space. As Schultze prepares orders for the final assault, a gas projectile in the office accidentally explodes and kills him. Stahlstadt collapses since Schultze had kept everything in his own hands and never appointed any deputy. It goes bankrupt and becomes a ghost town. Bruckmann and his friend, Dr. Sarrasin's son, take it over. Schultze would remain forevermore in his self-made tomb, on display as he had planned to do to his foes. The good Frenchmen take over direction of Stahlstadt in order to let it "serve a good cause from now on", its arms production being used to defend Ville-France.

Influence, commentary, and appraisals

The book was seen as an early premonition of the rise of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, with its main villain being described by critics as "a proto-

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

". It reflects the mindset prevailing in France following its defeat in the

Franco-German War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Jan ...

of 1870–1871, displaying a bitter anti-German bias completely absent from pre-1871 Verne works such as ''

Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel written by French novelist Jules Ve ...

'' where all protagonists (save one Icelander) are Germans and quite sympathetic ones. In his extensive review of Verne's works, Walter A. McDougall commented with the regard to ''The Begum's Millions'': "After the Franco-Prussian War, Verne began to invent mad scientists and evil geniuses". Throughout the book, Verne repeatedly ridicules Schultze's racist ideas and their author (the word "Vaterland" in German continually occurs within the French rendering of Schultze's diatribes). As reviewer Paul Kincaid points out, Verne's ridiculing of the German's ethnic stereotyping can be regarded as itself part of an ethnic stereotyping in the opposite direction. At the time of writing, public opinion in France was moved by the liberal subscriptions made by the citizens of

San Francisco 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 ...

to a relief fund for the sick and wounded soldiers of France during the Franco-Prussian war. In acknowledgement, the French government donated to the newly established

San Francisco Art Association The San Francisco Art Association (SFAA) was an organization that promoted California artists, held art exhibitions, published a periodical, and established the first art school west of Chicago. The SFAA – which, by 1961, completed a long sequen ...

a collection of copies from original marbles in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, including twenty-five pieces of the

Parthenon The Parthenon (; ; ) is a former Ancient Greek temple, temple on the Acropolis of Athens, Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the Greek gods, goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of c ...

frieze. Researcher George Klein noted that "''The Begum's Fortune'' shares its main theme with Verne's '' Facing the Flag'' (Original French title: ''Face au drapeau''), published in 1896: French

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

faced with the threat of futuristic super-weapons (what would now be called

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...

) and emerging victorious".Dr. George V. Klein, "19th Century Notions of Patriotism and Nationalism and Their Long-Term Implications" in Tamara Brown (ed.) "The Road to 1914 and Thence to 1939"

Film adaptations

* ''Tajemství Ocelového města'' (''The Secret of Steel City''), a 1979 film made in former

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, directed by

Ludvík Ráža Ludvík Ráža (3 October 1929, in Mukachevo – 4 October 2000, in Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, l ...

References

External links

; Versions
''The Begum's Fortune''
scanned book via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

, illustrated. Translated by W. H. G. Kingston Considered a poor translation. * ; Resources
Review by Michael Dirda
in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''
Review by Cheryl Morgan
at ''Emerald City''

at ''

SF Site ''SF Site'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine edited by Rodger Turner. It is among the oldest of websites dedicated to science fiction and primarily publishes book reviews. It has won the Locus Award and received nominations for ...

''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Begums Fortune, The 1879 French novels 1879 science fiction novels Dystopian novels Fiction about rivalry French novels adapted into films French science fiction novels Military science fiction novels Novels by Jules Verne Novels set in India Novels set in Oregon Novels set in the 1870s Science fiction novels adapted into films Utopian novels Weapons of mass destruction in fiction

Plot summary

Influence, commentary, and appraisals

Film adaptations

See also

References

External links