Jules VERNE organizes his trip along the Mediterranean.

Jules Verne (1828.1905)

Autograph letter signed to his friend Robert Godefroy.

Two pages in-12° on two-sheet paper.

Nantes. May 7 [18]84. Stamped and canceled autograph envelope.

“Our plan is to go directly to Oran, stopping only once en route in Lisbon. »

Beautiful letter from Jules Verne organizing his trip across the Mediterranean.

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“My dear Robert, I received your letter last evening. What happened in Amiens for the elections happened almost everywhere in France. Countless ballots; but you will certainly be re-elected on Sunday. Let's talk about us now. We won't leave, weather permitting, until the middle of next week. So, if you could leave Amiens on Tuesday the St Lazare station , you would arrive there at 6:30 p.m. It would be much nicer for you. So, after Sunday's election, from Monday send me a dispatch which will tell me if I can count on you on Tuesday evening; we would then leave on Wednesday or Thursday .

Otherwise, I will wait for you in Algiers where we will be in the last week of May. Our plan is to go directly to Oran, stopping only once en route in Lisbon , to make coal. So you would see Lisbon and the Strait of Gibraltar . I really hope that you will not come to the extremes that you spoke to me about with your political enemies: these animosities are part of current politics. Write to me, if you wish, in response to this letter; but, in any case, a dispatch all the same , Monday . Yours sincerely, Jules Verne 6 rue Jean Jacques. When you come, don't forget to bring two pairs of sheets and a few towels. »

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Jules Verne decided, in 1884, to undertake a major cruise along the Mediterranean. The Saint-Michel III, whose home port was at Tréport, left Nantes on May 13. On board are Paul Verne (his brother), Michel Verne (his son), his nephew Maurice (son of Paul), Edgard Raoul-Duval, Louis-Jules Hetzel, and Robert Godefroy, therefore, recipient of this letter . The ship arrived in Vigo on May 18, then in Lisbon on the 23rd. The crew passed Gibraltar on May 25, and arrived in Bône in Algeria. Malta, Sicily, Syracuse, Naples, and Pompeii will follow. The trip will extend over two months and Verne will be inspired by this journey in the writing of Mathias Sandorf , published in Le Temps from June 16 to September 20, 1885.

The Jules Verne company has published several articles on Godfrey and cruises (bulletins n°145, 2003 and N°150, 2004)