Verniana — Jules Verne Studies / Etudes Jules Verne — Volume 10 (2017–2018) — 91–134
Au Royaume « de l’Ombre et du Feu » : une étude ‘chimico-littéraire’ des Indes-Noires de Jules Verne
Although several Vernian scholars previously discussed Verne’s novel The Black Indies (a.k.a. The Underground City, 1877), here we enhanced a review of these studies taking into account a (geo)chemist point of view. The reader will thus mainly find in the present paper some details and informations about coal mines, miners’ lives (during and after mining time), also the future of abandoned mines and firedamp explosion hazards. These technical, scientific and social topics are mainly based on documents dated from the 19th century. Fantastic, strangeness and worrying events within the heroes’ adventures in the underground coal mine were also considered within the framework of G. Bachelard’s seminal books.
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