Robur the Conqueror
Jules VerneBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
They laughed at his ideas of heavier-than-air flying machines. But he had the last laugh with the Albatross -- the most incredible flying machine ever built. Lord of the skies, Robur became the would-be conqueror of the world!A fascinating companion to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Robur the Conqueror explores many of the same themes. The Wildside Press edition contains a newly revised version of the first English-language translation.
Synopsis
Robur-the-Conqueror is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne, published in 1886. It is also known as The Clipper of the Clouds.
The story begins with strange lights and sounds, including blaring trumpet music, reported in the skies all over the world. The events are capped by the mysterious appearance of black flags with gold suns atop tall historic landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. These events are all the work of the mysterious Robur (the specific epithet for English Oak, Quercus robur, and figuratively taken to mean "strength"), a brilliant inventor who intrudes on a meeting of a flight-enthusiast's club called the Weldon Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania