Texas Tech University

The Illustrator's Book Club

Explore works of art in the Diamond M Collection by American illustrator artists, such as the beloved N.C. Wyeth. Read the book, see the painting, and then join Tracee Robertson, Helen DeVitt Jones Curator of Art, to tour the artwork, followed by refreshments and discussion about the story through the artist's visual lens.

The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
Illustrated by N. C. Wyeth

April 6, 2024
2 – 4 PM
Memorial Room

SEATING IS LIMITED. Reserve your seat by emailing tracee.robertson@ttu.edu or calling 860-834-8668.

About the illustration:
Newell Convers Wyeth's painting, The Courier of the Air, illustrated chapter 11 of part II of the story, titled “The Abandoned,” with a caption reading, “This little bag was fastened to the neck of the albatross…; then liberty was given to this swift courier of the air….” Wyeth was a famous American artist illustrator, who lived and worked in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania in the early 20th century. He attended the Howard Pyle School of Art in Wilmington, Delaware, and like many illustrators published his images in magazines like the Saturday Evening Post.

About the book:
Jules Verne was a French writer in the 19th century. Known as a ‘father of science fiction,' his works were in his lifetime translated in numerous languages. He enjoyed great popularity, writing plays, essays, nonfiction, short stories and novels. Though he wrote in various genres, his talent was adventure stories that combined his interests in travel, history, and science. During his life, he published fifty-four novels in his science fiction series Extraordinary Voyages. The Mysterious Island follows a group of Union prisoners of the Civil War, who escape in a hot air balloon to an island thousands of miles from home. It was originally published in three volumes, titled L'Ile Mysterieuse in 1874.

Where to find the book:
- Online booksellers, local bookstores, or the Lubbock Public Library.
- Download for free from Project Gutenberg at www.gutenberg.org »