History Literature / RoburTheConqueror

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The novel is very clearly set ''around'' the time it was written, but it also casually mentions the existence of the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and several other innovations that were still in the planning stages at the time.

* FutureCopter: ''Albatross''. Strictly speaking, lift and thrust are produced by separate rotors, making it a gyrodyne.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The ''Albatross'' is carried by storm between Mount Erebus and Mount Terror and narrowly misses by a lucky helm handling the flames spewing from Mount Erebus' crater. The tone of the story makes people think of it as some [[StarWars dashing flight through a canyon of fire]]. In RealLife the mountains are separated by more than 15 miles, Mount Terror has been extinct for at least 800,000 years and Mount Erebus' flames never jump for thousands of yards into the atmosphere.

Like most of Verne's work, ''Robur the Conqueror'' is now in the public domain. Copies of the book are hosted by Project Gutenberg, including the [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5126 original French text]] and an [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3808 English translation]]. (Warning: like many public-domain Verne translations, the old English translations of ''Robur'' take [[CutAndPasteTranslation considerable liberties with the story]], and make [[BlindIdiotTranslation numerous errors]]. A university press finally published [[https://www.amazon.com/Robur-Conqueror-Classics-Science-Fiction/dp/081957726X an accurate translation]] in 2017.)

InAWorld where repeating sightings of an unidentified flying object are confusing the heck out of everybody, the balloon enthusiasts at the Weldon Institute are more concerned about finishing their CoolAirship. Just as their plans are reaching fever pitch, two of their top bigwigs are kidnapped by the mysterious Robur, who takes them around the world on his [[CoolPlane outrageously sophisticated flying machine]] ''Albatross'',[[note]]Yep, you guessed it, the ''Albatross'' was the UFO that had caused all the commotion.[[/note]] just to prove that [[AnAesop heavier-than-air travel is the way of the future]] and that airships [[ItWillNeverCatchOn will never catch on]]. Adventure, intrigue, and (in classic Verne style) [[ShownTheirWork gobs and gobs of lovingly detailed scientific and geographic exposition]] all ensue.

* AuthorTract: Verne belonged to a "Heavier-Than-Air" innovation society when he was young, so it's no surprise that one running theme of this book is a continual deconstruction of the CoolAirship trope. At the end, when the kidnapped bigwigs escape and return home to finish their airship, the ''Albatross'' [[http://blogs.monlegionnaire.com/media/blogs/Bishopkiller/Robur2.jpg suddenly shows up once again]], has an aerial battle with the airship, and skewers its balloon. Robur saves the airship's entire crew, safely carries them back to the audience, makes a little speech about the awesomeness of heavier-than-air machines and flies away, leaving the group of airship fanboys completely embarrassed. (See also "Fantastic Aesop" below.)

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: The ''Albatross'', [[http://aerostories.free.fr/dossiers/ADAV/robur.JPG as this miniature model shows,]] is a sort of giant helicopter with a ship-like hull, built from a SteamPunk analogue of modern laminate/composite materials and powered by batteries far better than we use today.

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: The ''Albatross'', [[http://aerostories.free.fr/dossiers/ADAV/robur.JPG as this miniature model shows,]] is a sort of giant helicopter with a ship-like hull, built from a SteamPunk analogue of modern laminate/composite materials.

Like most of Verne's work, ''Robur the Conqueror'' is now in the public domain. Copies of the book are hosted by Project Gutenberg, including the [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5126 original French text]] and an [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3808 English translation]]. (Warning: like many public-domain Verne translations, the old English translations of ''Robur'' take [[CutAndPasteTranslation considerable liberties with the story]], and make [[BlindIdiotTranslation numerous errors]]. A university press finally published [[https://www.upne.com/0819577269.html an accurate translation]] in 2017.)

* FantasticAesop: The main point of the whole novel is that, ''if'' somebody finds a way of making heavier-than-air travel practical, then all the people who are trying to make balloon travel more practical will look pretty silly. Of course, that was a highly researched hypothesis on Verne's part, and it's been largely supported by history. That doesn't make it any less of a Fantastic Aesop in historical context, though.

Like most of Verne's work, ''Robur the Conqueror'' is now in the public domain. Copies of the book are hosted by Project Gutenberg, including the [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5126 original French text]] and an [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3808 English translation]]. (Warning: like many public-domain Verne translations, the old English translations of ''Robur'' take [[CutAndPasteTranslation considerable liberties with the story]], and make [[BlindIdiotTranslation numerous errors]]. If you can read the language at all, you're much better off sticking to the original French.)

* ChekhovsGun: A minor aversion; early on, the ''Albatross'' is described as carrying all sorts of equipment, including an actual 6 cm deck gun, which then plays no part in the story.

* FantasticAesop: The main point of the whole novel is that, ''if'' somebody finds a way of making heavier-than-air travel practical, then all the people who are trying to make balloon travel more practical will look pretty silly.
** Of course, that was a highly researched hypothesis on Verne's part, and it's been largely supported by history. That doesn't make it any less of a Fantastic Aesop in historical context, though.

* {{Eagleland}}: A mixed-flavor example. The Americans are boorish, but the landscape itself is awesome, not to mention that the Americans are not any more boorish than the Europeans.

There's also the FilmOfTheBook, ''Film/MasterOfTheWorld'', although in the movie, the ''Albatross'' [[AdaptationDistillation is turned into]] a CoolAirship, not a CoolPlane.

There's also the FilmOfTheBook, ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055152/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Master of the World]]'', although in the movie, the ''Albatross'' [[AdaptationDistillation is turned into]] a CoolAirship, not a CoolPlane.

* AesopAmnesia: Uncle Prudent and Phil Evans spend most of the book getting a FantasticAesop about flying machines proven to them in every possible way…but are just too stubborn and narrow-minded to let it alter their actions.

* {{Eagleland}}: A mixed-flavor example. The Americans are boorish, but the landscape itself is awesome.

Like most of Verne's work, ''Robur the Conqueror'' is now in the public domain. Copies of the book are hosted by Project Gutenberg, including the [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5126 original French text]] and an [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3808 English translation]]. (Warning: like many public-domain Verne translations, the old English translations of ''Robur'' take considerable liberties with the story, [[BlindIdiotTranslation and make numerous errors]]. If you can read the language at all, you're much better off sticking to the original French.)

Like most of Verne's work, ''Robur the Conqueror'' is now in the public domain. Copies of the book are hosted by Project Gutenberg, including the [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5126 original French text]] and an [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3808 English translation]]. There is also the FilmOfTheBook, ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055152/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Master of the World]]'', although in the movie, the ''Albatross'' [[AdaptationDistillation is turned into]] a CoolAirship, not a CoolPlane.

Like most of Verne's work, ''Robur the Conqueror'' is now in the public domain. Copies of the book are hosted by Project Gutenberg, including the [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5126 original French text]] and an [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3808 English translation]]. There is also the FilmOfTheBook, ''Master of the World'' (1961), although in the movie, the ''Albatross'' [[AdaptationDistillation is turned into]] a CoolAirship, not a CoolPlane.

Like most of Verne's work, ''Robur the Conqueror'' is now in the public domain. Copies of the book are hosted by Project Gutenberg, including the [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5126 original French text]] and an [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3808 English translation]]. There is also the FilmOfTheBook, ''Master of the World'' (1961), although the ''Albatross'' [[AdaptationDistillation is turned into]] a CoolAirship, not a CoolPlane.

Like most of Verne's work, ''Robur the Conqueror'' is now in the public domain. Copies of the book are hosted by Project Gutenberg, including the [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5126 original French text]] and an [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3808 English translation]].