Voyages Extraordinaires
The history of "Invasion of the Sea" was unusual in this regard. For years before the Baxter translation, "Invasion of the Sea" was one of four late "Voyages Extraordinaires" novels left unpublished in their whole form (the others being "The Mighty Orinoco", "The Kip Brothers", and "Traveling Scholarships"). Early translators of Verne for British and American readers in the late 1800s and early 1900s were notorious for making major changes to Verne's novels in the translation and editing process. Translators would, for example, change names and even character motivations at times. Other changes were aimed at removing the anti-imperialist themes which Verne was known to espouse in his work, while others still were made by Verne's son. No contemporary translation was as notorious for its revisionism as the "Captain Hardizan" edition of "Invasion of the Sea", however. Mathew's translation changes were so dramatic that they changed the focus to a young European woman captured by an Arab raiding party. The Arabs themselves were described as being led by a different woman of supernatural abilities.