Physical description

Hard cover book, The Steam House Part 1, The Demon of Cawnpore.
Author: Jules Verne
Publisher: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, London
Date: 1881.
Light blue hardcover with the title on the spine having lettering to spine in black hand written text pen.

Publication type

fiction

Inscriptions & markings

Flyleaf has full publication details.
Label on spine cover with typed text PAT 843 VER
Front loose end paper has sticker from Warrnambool Public Library covered by a sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Service
Front loose end paper has a stamp from Corangamite Regional Library Service

Summary

The Steam House: Part 1, The Demon of Cawnpore is a Jules Verne adventure set in India after the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion. It follows a group of English and French travellers crossing northern India in a bizarre steam powered elephant named Behemoth that pulls two houses behind it. The main characters are a Colonel Munro who secretly hopes to find and destroy his old enemy, Nana Sahib who is the rebel leader linked to the Cawnpore bloodbath.
The story unfolds as the journey begins, as a sort of grand expedition, with the travellers enjoying the novelty and comfort of their mobile home. As the trip continues, the plot turns into a hunt, because Munro believes Nana Sahib may still be alive and wants revenge for the killing of his wife at the Cawnpore massacre. In short It is an Indian adventure novel about a steam powered elephant journey that turns into a revenge quest for Colonel Munro against the elusive Nana Sahib.