''Family Without a Name'' (french: Famille-sans-nom) is an 1889

adventure novel Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the Introduction to the ''Encyclopedi ...

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 ...

about the life of a family in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

(present-day

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

) during the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southe ...

of 1837 and 1838 that sought an independent and democratic republic for Lower Canada. In the book, the two sons of a traitor fight in the Rebellion in an attempt to make up for the crime of their father.

Plot

The story begins when a young man named John Strock, a member of the Weldon Institute, a scientific society, is informed about the arrival of an unknown family in San Francisco. This family consists of a man, a woman, and two children, and they wear masks to hide their identity. No one knows who they are or where they come from. John Strock becomes intrigued by this mystery and decides to investigate to uncover the identity of this nameless family. As he delves into his investigation, he discovers that the family is involved in a plot to sabotage the Transcontinental, a luxury train that crosses the United States. The novel takes place mainly aboard the Transcontinental, where Strock and his companions try to thwart the evil plans of the family without a name. The plot unfolds in a context of suspense, intrigue, and mystery, with unexpected twists. The story concludes with the resolution of the mystery surrounding the nameless family and the revelation of their true identity, as well as the unraveling of the railway plot. The novel explores themes of mystery, courage, and adventure, which are typical of Jules Verne's work.

Publication history

*1889, USA, New York: J.W. Lovell Co, Pub date 1889; first United States edition, as ''A Family Without a Name'' *1889, USA, New York: Munro, Pub date 1889; as ''A Family Without a Name'' *1890, UK, London: Sampson Low, Pub date 1890; first UK edition, as ''A Family Without a Name'' *1963, UK, London: Arco, Pub date 1963; abridged and edited by I.O. Evans in 2 volumes as ''Leader of the Resistance'' and ''Into the Abyss'' *1982, Canada, Toronto: NC Press , Pub date 1982; new translation by Edward Baxter

Popular culture

The 1978 edition, published at the French publishing house of the Union générale d'éditions, displayed upon the cover the mention "Pour un Québec libre" (For a Free Quebec). This was a decade after the

Vive le Québec libre speech Vive may refer to: * Vive, Viva, a Romance language expression * ''Vive'' (José José album), 1974 * ''Vive'' (Lucía Méndez album), 2004 *Vive (a cappella group), a cappella group from England, United Kingdom *ViVe Televisión, a state-owned Ve ...

of French President

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, two years after the first election of a contemporary independence party in Quebec, the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

, and two years before their promised referendum on independence occurred in 1980. Lévesque had also made an important state visit to France a year before.

External links

Pictures of various elaborate book covers of the novel.
{{Authority control 1889 French novels Novels by Jules Verne Lower Canada Rebellion fiction Fiction set in 1837 Fiction set in 1838