An exciting moment!

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mikhail strogoff finished 1 front coverWe got a lovely surprise the other day when our fabulous book production manager Karen Small of Small but Mighty sent us some photos of finished copies, complete with all embellishments, of Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff, taken in the printer’s warehouse in China from where they’ll be shipped later this month.

We are so thrilled with the look of the book, it is exactly what we hoped for–a gorgeous luxury look reminiscent of the magnificent 19th century Mikhail Strogoff finished 2 back covereditions of Verne’s work. At only 750 hand-numbered illustrated copies, this limited edition is truly going to be a collector’s piece! Remember, you can pre-order direct from us, see here, till release date in April 2016.mikhail strogoff finished 5 side on

Afterwards the book can also be ordered direct from us–if of course there are still copies left!

Mikhail Strogoff finished 4 gold edge pagesVery best wishes to everyone for a happy and peaceful time in the festive season.

Cover reveal of Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff!

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Mikhail Strogoff Cover Front Medium

Drum–roll: we are delighted to unveil to you the gorgeous front cover of Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff! With its deep red textured background, gold foil stamping and the beautiful inset cover illustration, we believe it is a truly elegant first impression of the delights within.

Here we’d like to pay tribute to the amazing design team of David Allan and Beattie Alvarez, who worked long hours to create the most beautiful design possible.

Production files now off to printer’s!

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Very exciting–we have now sent off the digital files for Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff to the printer! Quite a long way to go yet in production, with ozalids(digital proofs), printing and all the associated extras to come, but it was wonderful to see the complete files of what is going to be an absolutely sumptuous book!

In next week or two, we’ll be uploading a pic of the splendid cover but in the meantime, here’s the finalised back cover blurb, to whet your appetite:

Russia, late 19th century. The Empire is in great peril, and only one man can save it: the bold and resourceful young messenger Mikhail Strogoff. In a desperate race against time, he must face great dangers if he is to deliver his warning, as foreign armies mass on the border and a traitor lurks ready to strike. But is it already too late?

The first full English translation in over a hundred years of legendary author Jules Verne’s thrilling adventure novel.

Update on Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff

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Mikhail Strogoff cover illoSophie Masson here, co-director of Eagle Books. We thought you might appreciate an update on what’s been going on here as we work on our wonderful project.
Stephanie Smee has now finished her translation and delivered the entire manuscript of the text and it is currently in the editorial and proof-reading process. It’s an absolutely fabulous translation which completely captures the verve and spirit of Verne’s original and it’s been such a pleasure for me to reread a book I read with such enjoyment in French recreated in perfectly-pitched English–almost like discovering it yet again!
Meanwhile, art director and illustrator David Allan is working away at the pictures which will accompany the text. He has made the decision to create full page black and white illustrations scattered throughout the book, instead of thumbnail pictures at the beginning of each chapter as we’d previously planned. This is a design decision which we believe will only enhance the book. As well, beautiful coloured endpapers featuring a map of Mikhail’s journey are currently being designed by Fiona McDonald and Beattie Alvarez. It’s all looking wonderful!

Mikhail Strogoff in the theatre–then and now!

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Sub-heading reads, ‘the traitor Ivan Ogareff’

Back in 1880, Jules Verne co-wrote, with Adolphe Dennery, a play based on his great adventure novel. It was very popular in the late 19th century and early 20th, and recently, one of the Eagle Books team unearthed a couple of souvenir postcards from a 1904 production of the play, showing various characters in cheesy poses!

Sub-heading reads 'God gives ineffable consolations for the afflicted'

Sub-heading reads ‘God gives ineffable consolations for the afflicted’

But the appeal of Verne’s books still translates well to the theatre: if you are in Paris this October, you might like to go and check out the brand new musical, Le voyage extraordinaire de Jules Verne, featuring a 13 year old author voyaging in the world of his own books in an amazing and lively adventure!

jules verne musical

 

Poring over old maps

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WP_20150524_022When you’re translating a work such as Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff, which is such an epic journey across so much country, it’s as well as to keep a good grasp of geography, and that’s exactly what Stephanie Smee has been doing. But it’s not just maps per see she has to look at and pore over; it’s actually old maps, for while geography itself might not have changed, political geography has, and the map of the Russian Empire in 1876 looks very different to the map of the Russian Federation today. Here she is with one of those lovely old maps she’s been consulting–and next to that, a copy of the original edition of the book, which she’s been using as her base text.

Our crowdfunding campaign is over!

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Sergei Prokudin girl with strawberriesAnd a big thank you is due to all our wonderful contributors! Though we didn’t meet our target, we are very pleased to have raised such a substantial amount, which will greatly help in funding the production of the beautiful limited edition of Jules Verne’s Mikhail Strogoff.  We really appreciate all the support, both financial and  moral, that we have received. In the next few weeks, we’ll also be putting a pre-order form on the website, for all those of you who missed out on the crowdfunding campaign. In the meantime, on the Pre-order page, you’ll find the contact email to which you can send an email registering your interest.  Meanwhile, work continues apace on the book. Stephanie has just finished the translation of Part One of the book and Sophie has been editing it, while David has been working hard on the final colouring of the cover illustration. More updates and news soon!