The Will of an Eccentric

The Testament of an Eccentric (also The will of an eccentric or The Testament of an eccentric ) is a novel by the French writer Jules Verne. The novel was first published in 1899 by the publisher Pierre -Jules Hetzel under the French title Le Testament D' Un Excentrique. Volume I appeared on August 3 and Volume II on 20 November 1899. The first German -language edition published in 1878 under the title The Testament of an eccentric. The English title of the novel is The Will of an Eccentric.

Action

In Chicago in 1897, an event offset a large part of the inhabitants of the city in an uproar. The late millionaire William J. Hypperbone can celebrate his funeral on April 3. Hypperbone was a member of the Excentric club where the 50 key members of the Realtor industry, the slaughterhouse and salting industry and the railways, oil and mining companies of Chicago are represented. They meet every evening in the rooms of the club to the major daily and weekly newspapers to read, and to play with usually high stakes. Eccentric was in the past, however, only the wedding plan Hypperbones who wanted to marry the centennial Miss Anthonia Burgoyne at an age of less than forty years. However, the elderly bride died of whooping cough attack before she could give her vows Hypperbone. Hypperbone always enjoyed excellent health, but died suddenly without previous signs of illness. Hypperbone resulted in a club the noble goose game that was played also with high stakes in the rule. The game remained in the movement across the playing fields to the role played by children in Germany and Ladders.

Members of the club hope that they will be compensated by the testament of the deceased for their high stakes in the past. The notary Tornbrock explained to them but only that the hearse Hypperbones should be accompanied by six pallbearers, who are chosen by lot. The lot falls on the landscape painter Max Réal, the journalists Harris T. Kymbale, the professional boxer Tom Crabbe, the cashier of a fashion business Lissy Wag, the miserly pawnbroker Hermann Titbury and the retired naval officer Commodore Hodge Urrican. The will is to be read only twelve days after the funeral. Hypperbone leaves no heirs. It can be full of pomp bury in his specially finished buildings as far back Mausoleum. Twelve days later, finally takes place, the public reading of the will. The curiosity of all Americans to the contents of the will by that time already gone through the roof.

In the auditorium of a hotel, the notary reads Tornbrock front of 16,000 spectators, who were lucky enough to snag a ticket, the testament. The deceased is his reputation full justice as a member of the Excentric clubs. It has set a proponent of known primarily in the UK and France noble goose game, that this is to play in an oversized way with the drawn participants across the USA. The individual U.S. states are the fields of play, and the game characters are the names drawn. Depending on how the dice will fall, as periodically determined by the notary Tornbrock, the participants have to move between the states. The former United States shall consist of 48 states, of which 47 are each present once as a playing field and the state of Illinois, located in Chicago, a total of fourteen times. It also states are defined as special fields. New York serves as a " bridge " ( easy deployment pay and move on ), Louisiana serves as a " tavern " ( double bet pay, partners can roll twice), Nevada serves as a "bay " ( detachment wait and ease of deployment pay ), Nebraska serves as "Labyrinth" ( pay three times your bet and pull back ), Missouri serves as a " prison " ( detachment wait and pay triple use ) and California serves as a " skull and crossbones" (back to the beginning of the game and ease of deployment pay ). At certain points need to be made in the game cash " fines ." The game is won by the person who is back in the sixty-third field arrives first ( in Chicago). In his will Hypperbone calls his game, the "Noble United States game". The winner of this game will be the sole heir of over sixty million dollars. The second of the participants will receive the money that was paid into the pot of money. The result is a tumult, as the prospect of a million heritage is the first prize in this gigantic game. This is according to the tastes of Americans. In a codicil, which is also read by the notary Tornbrock, is also determined that an unknown person, who is referred to as XKZ, will participate as the seventh participant in the game. Thus there is not the possibility that some of the six names drawn to each other and do whatever the outcome of the game, a division of the inheritance.

During the game, the seven participants to travel back and forth across the United States. Jules Verne describes here his extensive knowledge of geography. The game participants look at the sights of the former United States. The itinerary is dependent on the arbitrary results rolling the dice with the terms thereof dependencies of the gameplay. The protagonists experience different adventures during their respective trips. Hermann Titbury is convicted in the State of Maine for the crime against the applicable there Prohibition to pay a fine because he ordered in a pub for himself and his wife two whiskeys. It turns out that he has given a false name. For this he was sentenced, in addition to a prison sentence. In Salt Lake City, Utah, he is lured with his wife by a stranger on a pretext to an isolated hotel and released only after payment of a ransom of $ 2,000. Lissy Wag ill with bronchitis and is mistakenly declared dead. The noble Humphrey Weldon signs up as sponsor by Lissy Wag and lets them know that he is on their victory. Kymbale dueled with Urrican when passing its two trains. Both, however, survive the incident unscathed. Lissy Wag will fall together with her friend Jovita Foley and Max Réal of unknowns who want to prevent an abduction by the onward journey by Lissy Wag. Here Max Réal was severely wounded by one of the robbers with a knife in the back. He is, however, compensated shortly afterwards during a visit to Lissy's mother through the engagement with Lissy for this event.

Meanwhile, however, is the still unknown XKZ been declared the winner of the game, as this arrives first on the target field 63 in Illinois. A week later the mystery of his identity is still not revealed. On July 15, the bell rings on the mausoleum Hypperbones. The notary Tornbrock, members of the Excentric clubs and six the drawn game players go into the mausoleum. The masses of the people make their way to the cemetery. X. K. Z. is still lacking. The coffin Hypperbones opens and the supposedly deceased stands before them. Lissy and Jovita recognize in him Humphrey Weldon. He is also the mysterious XKZ. After the funeral ceremony in his mausoleum Hypperbone had awakened from a cataleptic rigidity. He took the help of his lawyer had the chance to participate even as a great unknown to his own favorite game. He went as a real player and the risk of losing all his fortune to one of the other participants. Hypperbone finally married Jovita Foley, the girlfriend of the second-placed in the game Lissy Wag This in turn marries her fiancé Max Réal.