Eagle Books’ Sophie Masson has a guest post about Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff, its impact on her as a young reader, and the project generally, at the Great Raven blog.

Here’s a short extract:

I read the novel I don’t know how many times, swept away by the grandeur of the story, the fantastic adventure, with its wolves, bears, mountain storms, bandits, iced-up rivers, cruel torturers and traitors. I thoroughly enjoyed  the funny  rivalry and repartee between Alcide Jolivet and Harry Blount,  I thrilled to the love I could see developing between Nadia and Michel, both equally tough and brave. And I was swept away too by the description of the journey, which starts in Moscow and ends in Siberia — a journey over water, through forest and mountain and cities and villages: you get a real sense of the vastness and amazing diversity, both human and environmental, of Russia.  Basically, it’s a chase novel, and it has the breakneck pace of that, and lots of twists and turns, culminating in an especially unexpected and satisfyingly resolved one. But it is also beautifully written, as tight and clever and witty as Around the World in Eighty Days, and much more passionate and exciting. 

You can read the full post here.

Stephanie Smee, the wonderful translator of Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff, talks about how she became involved in the  project, and the crowdfunding campaign.

We’ve posted an update and a short extract from Stephanie Smee’s sparkling translation of Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff on our crowdfunding site. Read it here!

Reposted from Stephanie’s site.

 I feel very privileged to be translating this special novel. Unlike many of Verne’s better known tales, Mikhail Strogoff – The Tsar’s Courier (as it will be published in English) is not science fiction. Rather, it is a rip-roaring, historical adventure set in pre-revolutionary Russia. For over a century, it has been considered by the French to be one of his best novels, popular with teenagers and adults alike.

 It is truly an honour to be part of Sophie Masson’s team at Eagle Books who is responsible for bringing this wonderful story to a whole new English-speaking audience.

 If you want to be part of this exciting adventure, why don’t you log on to: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eagle-books-present-jules-verne-s-mikhail-strogoff

 You can pre-order a beautiful copy of the limited edition hardcover for just $55 within Australia and New Zealand (or $75 for other places in the world, postage included). If you wish to contribute in other ways, you will see there are many levels at which you can participate with some wonderful perks to be had.

 Mikhail Strogoff is a true, seat-of-the-pants historical chase novel. It has beautifully drawn characters, sharp dialogue and twists and turns aplenty … all set in the fascinating, ever-changing Russian landscape, from Moscow to Irkutsk!

 I know it will find a happy home on your bookshelf next to your copies of Jules Verne’s other much-loved favourites.

 It will be a book to treasure!

Eagle Books is a brand new fiction imprint of Christmas Press, with our launch title to appear in early 2016. We will specialise in fantastic adventure novels for readers 11 and up, and will publish a mix of classic and modern writers, authors of exciting, well-written novels with vivid characters and gripping plots of adventure, whose settings may be historical, contemporary, or fantasy.

We will soon be launching a crowdfunding campaign to fund production of a very special limited edition of our launch title. More news soon–watch this space!