Czarodziejski okręt

Czarodziejski okręt
AuthorWładysław Umiński
LanguagePolish
Genreadventure fiction, nautical fiction, science fiction
Publication date
1914
Publication placePoland

Czarodziejski okręt (The Magic Ship) is a nautical robinsonade with science fiction elements for young readers written by Władysław Umiński and serialized in 1914. A book edition was published in 1916. The novel tells the story of a millionaire who spends her vacation on a deserted island and her husband who embarks on a quest to find her using the titular technologically-advanced ship.

Plot

A young American aristocrat and millionaire bored with civilization resides on a supposedly deserted island. Her husband sets out to find her using the titular "magic ship", which is not magical but very modern, equipped with advanced communication systems and a seaplane.[1][2][3]

Publication history and reception

The novel was first serialized in the illustrated magazine Przyjaciel Dzieci [pl] from 1914 to 1915 (issues from 27 to 52 in 1914 and issues from 1 to 28 in 1915)[1] and was later published as a book in 1916 by Gebethner and Wolff [pl]. Subsequent editions were released in 1925 and 1933.[4] The novel is classified as a robinsonade,[3][5] a genre of adventure stories featuring castaways and nautical fiction.[6] Like many of Umiński's works, it is also considered to be inspired by Jules Verne's writings (for example his Mysterious Island), repeating ideas such as "the mystification of a deserted island and the grotesque treatment of the robinsonade".[7] The novel has also been described as atypical for Umiński due to its "lightly ironic tone and complete absence of Polish themes", commonly found in his other works.[1]

The novel can also be categorized as science fiction because Umiński describes advanced, futuristic for his time wireless telegraphy with a range of 5,000 km, and what is effectively a radio, which he calls a "metatelephone".[8][9] In 1953, writing during the era of the Polish People's Republic, the Polish literary scholar Krystyna Kuliczkowska [pl] praised the book for its "sharp criticism" of the "spoiled [female] millionaire", though she criticized the novel for its positive portrayal of her husband.[10] She also found the depiction of the expulsion of the island's inhabitants to provide the millionaire with space for solitary hunting and contemplation to be shocking.[10]

From a contemporary perspective, the novel has been criticized for its racist portrayal of colored natives from the Comoro Islands.[1] Another Polish scholar, Jadwiga Ruszała, highlighted the unusual variant of the robinsonade in this novel – the stay on the deserted island is usually the result of chance and perceived as something negative; however, in this story, it is a planned escape from civilization. The millionaire heroine is not left to fend for herself; more difficult or unpleasant tasks are carried out by the crew of her nearby ship.[3]

In 1925, a reviewer from Przegląd Biblioteczny [pl] positively assessed the book, writing: "The book is written with the usual fluency and ease of the author, and is richly and beautifully illustrated, and about the author: a great popularizer of scientific achievements and an excellent storyteller of adventures".[11] A 1957 reviewer categorized this book as one of the weaker works of Umiński.[12] Despite the passage of time, in a 2021 scholarly work, the novel was praised for its brisk action and humor.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Woźniakowski, Krzysztof (10 June 2021). "Po podziale czasopisma: "Przyjaciel Młodzieży" i "Przyjaciel Dzieci" w ostatnich miesiącach przedwojennych (styczeń – lipiec 1914)" [After the Division of the Magazine: "Przyjaciel Młodzieży" and "Przyjaciel Dzieci" in the Last Months Before the War (January – July 1914)]. Rocznik Towarzystwa Naukowego Płockiego (in Polish). 12 (Tom 12 (2020): Rocznik Towarzystwa Naukowego Płockiego). doi:10.19251/rtnp/2020.12(20).
  2. ^ "Czarodziejski Okręt | Władysław Umiński" [The Magic Ship | Władysław Umiński]. Lubimyczytać.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  3. ^ a b c Ruszała, Jadwiga (2000). Robinsonada w literaturze polskiej: teoria, typologia, bohater, natura [Robinsonade in Polish Literature: Theory, Typology, Hero, Nature] (in Polish). Pomorska Akademia Pedagogiczna. pp. 34–35, 71, 137. ISBN 978-83-87006-89-1.
  4. ^ Czachowska, Jadwiga; Szałagan, Alicja, eds. (2003). Współcześni polscy pisarze i badacze literatury. Słownik biobibliograficzny [Contemporary Polish Writers and Literary Scholars: A Biobibliographic Dictionary] (in Polish). pp. 437–438.
  5. ^ Kuliczkowska, Krystyna (1959). Literatura dla dzieci i młodzieży w latach 1864–1914: zarys rozwoju, materiały [Children's and Young Adult Literature from 1864–1914: Outline of Development, Materials] (in Polish). Państwowe Zakłady Wydawn. Szkolnych. p. 46.
  6. ^ "Rozmowy z polskimi marynistami (XX) Czarodziejski okręt czyli o twórczości Władysława Umińskiego" [Conversations with Polish Marine Writers (XX) The Magic Ship or About the Works of Władysław Umiński] (PDF). Tygodnik Odra (in Polish). 20 (182). 1949.
  7. ^ Literatura okresu Młodej Polski [Literature of the Young Poland Period] (in Polish). Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. 1973. p. 591.
  8. ^ Konieczny, Piotr. "SFE: Umiński, Władysław". sf-encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2024-09-15.
  9. ^ Niewiadowski, Andrzej (1992). Literatura fantastycznonaukowa [Science Fiction Literature] (in Polish). Wydawn. Naukowe PWN. p. 106. ISBN 978-83-01-10122-0.
  10. ^ a b Kuliczkowska, Krystyna (1953). "O twórczości Władysława Umińskiego" [On the Works of Władysław Umiński]. Twórczość (in Polish). 8: 176.
  11. ^ Wolff, Adam; Gebethner, Jan Stanisław (15 December 1925). Przegląd Bibljograficzny: wydawnictwo księgarni Gebethnera i Wolffa [Bibliographic Review: The Publishing House of Gebethner and Wolff Bookstore] (in Polish). Gebethner i Wolf.
  12. ^ Z literatury lat 1863–1918: studia i szkice [From the Literature of 1863–1918: Studies and Sketches] (in Polish). Zakład im. Ossolińskich. 1957. p. 324.