Clovis Dardentor

Clovis Dardentor
Cover from UK Edition
Author(s)	Jules Verne
Original title	Clovis Dardentor
Illustrator	Léon Benett
Country	France
Language	French
Series	The Extraordinary Voyages #43
Genre(s)	Adventure novel
Publisher	Pierre-Jules Hetzel
Publication date	1896
Published in English	1897
Media type	Print (Hardback)
ISBN	N/A
Preceded by	Facing the Flag
Followed by	An Antarctic Mystery

Partly a travel narrative, Clovis Dardentor is an 1896 fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne. Compared to other Verne novels, it is a relatively unknown work.

Very common throughout Clovis Dardentor is Verne's usage of a comedic, slightly burlesque tone in the narration and in the characters' dialogues (something which the narrator confirms at a certain point of the novel).

The original illustrations were drawn by designer Léon Benett.

A movie adaptation of Clovis Dardentor is currently underway through www.buyacredit.com. Annette Badland and Stephen Fry have already been cast in the film.

Plot summary

The novel tells the story of two cousins, Jean Taconnat and Marcel Lornans, travelling from Cette, France to Oran, Algeria, with the purpose of enlisting in the 5th regiment of the Chausseurs D'Afrique.

On board the Argelès, the ship to Oran, they meet Clovis Dardentor, a wealthy industrialist, who is the central character of the novel. Jean and Marcel, whose desire to travel to Africa arises from their pursuit of financial independence, find out that Clovis —an unmarried man, with no family— has left no heirs to his fortune.

Yet Marcel, well-versed in the Law, knows that any person who were to save Clovis' life either from a fight, from drowning, or from a fire, would forcibly have to be adopted by Clovis. The cousins come to a plan: They will find a way to save Clovis' life, so that he will indeed be legally required to adopt them.

Ironically, it is Clovis who finally saves the cousins' lives: Marcel is saved from a fire, and Jean is saved from drowning.

Eventually, while Jean continues to look for the opportunity to save Clovis' life, Marcel falls in love with Louise Elissane, the prospective daughter-in-law of one of Clovis' acquaintainces, the unpleasant Desirandelle family. Louise becomes a key character in the novel, for it is she who saves Clovis Dardentor's life.

Fortunately for the cousins, in the end, Louise is adopted by Clovis, and marries Marcel.

Publication history

Clovis Dardentor was first published in France in 1896 and in 1897 the first British edition, fully illustrated, was published by Sampson Low, Marston, and Company. The book was not published in the U.S. until 2008 ^[1] when the Choptank Press of St Michaels, Maryland re-published the Sampson Low version in a fully illustrated replica edition as a Lulu Press book.[1]

Film Adaptation

Three British film-makers are currently in the development stages of "Clovis Dardentor", a £2M adaptation of the book. The film's production is being funded by the general public through buyacredit.com and is expected to star Stephen Fry and Annette Badland ^[2] Writer Lizzie Hopley has written the screenplay for the movie.

References

1. ^ Verne, Jules (2008). Clovis Dardentor. St. Michaels, MD: Choptank Press. pp. 320. 
2. ^ IMDB Film Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462032/