A message from Kenneth Lamb

[John Lamb]

The Saknussemm name is not known until after the
publication of A Journey to the Centre of the Earth so I
think we can safely say this is a name invented by Jules
Verne.

I hope we can all agree on that. Currently there are five
people in the world called Saknussemm, all changed from
their birth name. I am sure we can also agree Verne had a
very keen interest in secret codes. This odd name must
mean something and we give him a dishonour by saying
we can solve this mystery cipher by jumbling up these
letters in a haphazard manner using the very basic rules of
an anagram (a method forum members have taken a
childish delight in providing to undermine my argument).
No, Verne is better than that. Verne’s method to solve this
code is not to arrange the letters in a mishmash fashion
but to use recognised code breaking rules that need (a), a
key to instigate the solving process and (b), a defined
method of revealing the final message.

After the success of the 1863 adventure Five Weeks in a
Balloon, Verne was given a two novel and soon after, a
daunting three novel contract per year. Like all authors,
Verne would be in need of some inspiration and that
inspiration came from someone who was making
headlines in all the French newspapers. That person was
Raphael Semmes, captain of the most notorious and
successful Confederate raider of the American Civil War,
the CSS Alabama.

ARNE SAKNUSSEMM . . . the key is the name SEMMES
Place the first ES to the end to make SEMMES
ARNA KNUS SEMMES
The defined method of decoding is to then read this
backwards which is a legacy of the word SEMMES being a
palindrome.
SEMMES SUNK ARNA
ARNA is Nordic for “The Powerful Eagle .”
SEMMES SUNK THE POWERFUL EAGLE
The powerful eagle being the United States of America.

The decoding of the name Arne Saknussemm is completed
under rules that define a simple but very clever
transposition cipher and is not just a jumble of letters that
could be made to say anything.

In his 1864 novel The Adventures of Captain Hatteras,
Verne uses the building of Semmes’ ship, the CSS
Alabama, as inspiration for the novel. In the novel the ship
is called the Forward. Like the CSS Alabama it is built in
Birkenhead to a sturdy, over-engineered design and the
captain’s name Hatteras is taken from the first military
vessel Semmes and the Alabama sank. This was the USS
Hatteras in January 1863.

In Verne’s 1864 classic A Journey to the Centre of the
Earth he amuses himself by leaving a secret code within
the name Arne Saknussemm as confirmation and gratitude

for this inspiration. This inspiration had already sown the
seeds for the creation of the Nautilus (first mentioned in
The Adventures of Captain Hatteras) and is the reason the
Saknussemm code giving directions to the centre of the
earth is finally solved by reading it backwards (Verne was
motivated by the palindrome surname SEMMES). How
fantastic to find new things in the world of Jules Verne
after 150 years !

I am sorry to say, I have had enough of this forum and this
will be my last post. It seems to be run by an Emperor who
has surrounded himself with loyal minions who will do
anything they can to prevent new discoveries seeing the
light of day that may ever so slightly diminish his past
publications. They will go through the most tortuous
shenanigans to discredit our endeavours, endeavours we
engage in, not to sell books or make money, but to simply
promote interest in the works of Jules Verne and hopefully
help the town in which we were born.

I have a question that I would like forum members to be
brave enough to answer.

Is the name Arne Saknussemm a very simple but clever
transposition cipher paying homage for Semmes’
inspiration or is it a name that was just made up because it
sounds a bit like Arni Magnusson? Remember, the ghost
of Verne is watching and your answers will be judged long
after the emperor has moved on.
Thank you for your time,

Kenneth Lamb

[mken...@aol.com]

«The defined method of decoding is to then read this
backwards»

When you do that you get:  Semmes sunk aNRa

… not aRNa.

[William Butcher]

Wrong! 

Verne never had a 2-novel or a 3-novel contract.

I'm glad you're leaving the JVF.  perhaps you could have a word with Riro? Hardly anyone would regret his departure!

You say "this forum ... seems to be run by an Emperor who
has surrounded himself with loyal minions...". That reveals more about you than anything else.

---

From: jules-ve...@googlegroups.com <jules-ve...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of John Lamb <cads...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, November 3, 2025 8:18 AM
To: Jules Verne Forum <jules-ve...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [JVF] A message from Kenneth Lamb

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[John Lamb]

Re Saknussemm, you will see from previous posts that we have always stated that only the last two words in Semmes sunk arna are read backwards and this is consistent in syllable terms with  Verne's coded name  references of Ardan and  Munbar. Yet again people pick up on summaries in this forum while exposing themselves as not having read the details in previous posts. The real and undeniable fact remains however that Alex, the editor of Verniana can not answer his question re the inspiration for Nemo, even if I widen it out to 'one or more historical figures' which I am happy to do. Bill can can not answer his two questions  a) because it is impossible to expand on the constraints of Nemo being based on Flourens to even come close to my 732 word summary on Nemo being based on Semmes never mind the expanded 100 points and b) Bill can not also not come close to Birkenhead being an inspiration for Verne given the criteria I gave him,  even if we expand Macau, Truro and Lincoln (his choice of potential locational control experiments) in to Scotland, Nantes or Amiens. Have you even read my 13,000 worder on Birkenhead?...I suggest you do. As I have said, this should set alarm bells ringing. I also suggest you read my three submissions on Mysterious Island as that really is home territory for me. Aaahh can't you just smell the fresh air! Best John

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[Don Sample]





People don’t come up with explanations for how Nemo might be based on Flourens, or any other historical figures, because we don’t think he was based on any single figure, or even a mashup of two or three historical figures.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas is a work of fiction, and Nemo is a fictional character, given characteristics necessary to serve the plot of the story Verne wanted to tell. He may have drawn inspiration from some historical figures. Semmes might even have been one of them, but any resemblance to him is much more likely to be coincidental.

Arne Saknussemm might be a complicated cypher in two languages Verne didn’t speak, celebrating the actions of a man whose cause Verne loathed, or it might be a name that Verne made up to sound like what he thought an Icelandic name would sound like.

Yes, sometimes Verne would use cyphers in the plots of his stories, but those cyphers were relevant to those stories, and would be resolved in those stories.

And why would Verne be so obsessed with a town in England (a country he didn’t seem to care for much) that he visited once, that he built an entire island around it?

On Nov 3, 2025, at 1:34 AM, John Lamb <cads...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[John Lamb]

It was not me that came up with the fact stating 'Nemo is Flourens' it was William Butcher. In the  novel Arne Saknussemm actually does create a cipher in Runes and Latin  (two languages that Verne did not speak) so you are saying why would he do something that he has already done in the novel...this is nonsensical.   Have you read my three submissions on Mysterious Island?    Have you read my 13,000 word article on why Birkenhead must have fascinated Jules Verne? If you had you would not have to ask the questions you have asked. Have you read how the cipher of Arne Saknussemm feeds into the Icelandic Snaefells scenes in A Journey to the Centre of the Earth? You say Saknussemm may be a cipher, then should we not work together to see whether it is based on reading my other submissions....no, people on this forum started the ridicule, namely Alex and Bill and that is unbecoming of a great author. I have said before Nemo finds Christian redemption in Mysterious Island and that may be said for Raphael Semmes. I will post how Saknussemm feeds into Birkenhead in the next day or two...I am sure that will be ridiculed as 'coincidence' too. Please answer the question ast whether you have read my articles because it is pertinent to any discussion. Best John

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[mken...@aol.com]

Verne knew Latin. He learned it in school. He did not know much English; he did not learn it in school. The runes are just used as a simple transliteration. (Runes are not a language.)

"An esoteric can claim more nonsense in five minutes than a scientist can disprove in his entire lifetime." Don’t get me wrong. You have some interesting points, especially the Farragut link. But the fact that a lot of your claims cannot easily be disproved does not mean that they are correct. I could claim that there are little fairies and that traveling faster than the speed of light is only prevented by these fairies. Then I could tell you to try to disprove it. I could tell you that you would have to travel faster than the speed of light in order to disprove my claim. But you can’t travel that fast. So my claim must be correct, right? That’s just an exaggerated example, but you’ll see the principle, I think.

[William Butcher]

Riro, wrong again!

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[John Lamb]

Don stated it was two languages that Verne did not speak ...not me. I was merely answering his claim and then you  answered it for me. I do not think it is beyond Verne's intelligence to find the past tense of the English  of 'to sink' or the 'Icelandic' for 'great eagle' re Saknussemm.  Birkenhead /Laird's/ Semmes / Alabama are mentioned in eleven Verne novels and yet this seems to mean nothing to either of  you in the context of the Semmes Nemo 100 links. You prefer to make analogies with fairies which is subtly disrespectful but admittedly well done.  I ask again...yes or no....have you read my 13,000 word article on why Birkenhead fascinated  Jules Verne  and how it  inputted into his work and have you read my three articles taking you through the whole of Mysterious Island being  on a precise one for one template of Birkenhead and the Wirral Peninsula? Any evidence is the sum of the parts... and because it is Jules Verne there are many parts. So I ask you too have you read the articles?   I maintain that I have answered two questions that Bill has no chance of answering in terms of the criteria   and answered one question that Alex has no chance of answering in terms of the criteria....all supported by articles I do not believe you have yet read. 

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[John Lamb]

Dear Bill, I see you are no longer as sure these days about Flourens? Does this mean you were wrong?....your Flourens article is still late... I have given you Semmes you give me Flourens. You do not like being pushed do you and yet I encourage you to push me. On the major points you will be proved wrong ..it is only a matter of time. I gave you Birkenhead but you will not give me Macau, Lincoln or Truro...because like Flourens there is nothing in these places to give. Unlike Birkenhead there are no eleven references in Verne's  novels, no Alburkahs, no Olmsteds, no World's first public park, no Birkenhead drill, no Civil War links, no Hawthornes, O'Connells, no Great Easterns, no cables, no end of the Civil War, no Brasseys, Fields, Bennetts, Vanderbilts, Napoleon III's, Ismays and Lairds, no Roburs, no Livingstones, no George Francis Trains, no Alabama's, no Laird Rams, no Semmes,  no Scotias, no Maurys, no Baden Powells, no Mallory and Irvines and definitely no links with Mysterious Island.   Best John.   p.s. I will give you a bit longer on the coursework if that helps.

[Don Sample]

> On Nov 3, 2025, at 6:56 AM, John Lamb <cads...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I do not think it is beyond Verne's intelligence to find the past tense of the English of 'to sink'

And yet, in the plot critical English version of the message in a bottle from The Children of Captain Grant he failed to do so, using “sink” where it should have been “sank”.

[John Lamb]

Thanks for this.

Can you answer this question?

Did Ayrton ever say ''God helps who help themselves" at any point in the novel, it was in the Disney film but I could not find it in my translation.

Best John

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[Don Sample]

I’m pretty sure that’s an invention of the Disney screen writers. I can’t find anything in my version remotely similar to that phrase. I search for all occurrences of “help” or “god” and neither word appears in any phrase that even resembles that aphorism.

On Nov 3, 2025, at 11:23 AM, John Lamb <cads...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[John Lamb]

Thanks for this, I ask because it was the motto of the Alabama. Best John

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[James D. Keeline]

I would recommend strong caution in using film adaptations as an awareness of the plot and details of a Verne book, either one of the English translations, let alone the French original.

For example, you mention the Nautilus has gold that has been collected from sunken wrecks as one of your points of similarity.  However, this is greatly exaggerated in the Disney film relative to what you would find in the Lewis Mercier translation that is the most common published.  From chapter 8 of that edition are these mentions that are the closest to what the Disney production expanded upon.

In the same film, there is the abuse of the collected specimens by the jocular Ned Land as he tries to find vessels for his messages in bottles.  Spoiler alert — there is no sea lion or any character called Esmerelda in the book.

Another common misperception is whether there is a balloon in Around the World in Eighty Days.  The book has no balloon but millions of people think that there is one because of the 1956 Michael Todd film.  As I posted to the NAJVS Facebook group, there's a poster for a book event next weekend that is themed to the book and the Canva image features a steam locomotive and a balloon.  Even the Easton Press leatherbound edition for book collectors has a balloon on the cover.  It is clear who has read and remembered the story.

Translations can introduce differences.  Journey to the Centre of the Earth in some translations changes the name of the lead character ("Liedenbrock" => "Hardwigg").  We don't know the name of the translator.  We know only the first publisher that issued it.  But the translation is often referred to as the "Hardwigg" because of this error.  This one also introduces scenes that have no basis in Verne's French text.

The Disney film In Search of the Castaways does have some scenes in common with the South America volume of this triple-decker story.  However, they do not include more than a small portion of the story.  But at the same time they made additions as it fit their purposes, including a sense of their audience.

This also brings to mind the issue of fake quotes.  Both Verne and Disney have quotes attributed to them that they did not write or say.  They have a similar theme.  I'll paraphrase here:

What one man can imagine, another can make real

This quote first appeared in a biography of Verne by a relative long after his death.  No evidence has been found to say that he wrote it.  It is not associated with any translation of the book it is supposed to be from.

If you can dream it, you can do it

This quote is not from Walt Disney but rather coined by an Imagineer named Tom Fitzgerald for one of the EPCOT Future World attractions.  But the Walt Disney Company sold merchandise in the parks that featured it as if it was one of his quotes.

Fake quotes are especially pernicious.  People use them to support their point of view because the quote with a famous, often respected, person seems to add credibility.  But if the quote is not real, and certainly not with the attributed person, it undermines the use.  Some put fake quotes out there just to confuse.  Others don't research it properly.  But once it in one quote database, it is quickly stolen by others.  There is very little "fact checking" of the quotes to see if they are real.  At least it is much harder to find solid research.

For Verne the best is to use the French texts and note that there can be variations between the serial and book editions.  With translations, it depends a lot on who the translator is.  Old translations, commonly reprinted, are often bad.  In Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, the Lewis Mercier translation makes many errors (documented in Walter James Miller's Annotated Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (Crown, 1976)) and completely omits a chapter that describes the interior of the Nautilus.  Most readers would be more interested in this than a list of the sea creatures of the Indian Ocean that fills another chapter.

The films diverge greatly from the book editions.  Even the appearance and feature of the Nautilus is very different thanks to the design of Harper Goff.  It is common for the films to add characters, usually women, who are not in any edition of the books.

James

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[John Lamb]

Dear James, thanks for this and once again the time taken writing.

I agree with what you say and am familiar with most but not all of how the film adaptations differ. It was good to hear  the final say re the phrase from the translator. It was a long shot that intrigued me.  Best John

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[William Butcher]

riro, I can lower the insolence  bar to 10 books if you want.

---

From: jules-ve...@googlegroups.com <jules-ve...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of John Lamb <cads...@gmail.com>

Sent: Monday, November 3, 2025 10:05 PM
To: jules-ve...@googlegroups.com <jules-ve...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [JVF] A message from Kenneth Lamb

 

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[John Lamb]

Fine by me William.

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[William Butcher]

Riro, So there is a conspiracy stretching across four continents, some of the best publishers in the world, dozens of books and many  doctorates?

you know distressingly little about Jules Verne and almost nothing about research methods in literature. But only you know the truth and it doesn't matter if you make many serious mistakes.

---

From: jules-ve...@googlegroups.com <jules-ve...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of John Lamb <cads...@gmail.com>

Sent: Tuesday, November 4, 2025 4:50 AM
To: jules-ve...@googlegroups.com <jules-ve...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [JVF] A message from Kenneth Lamb

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[John Lamb]

my word Bill the peace treaty didn't last very long did it? 

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[John Lamb]

...have you read Quentin's link?

[William Butcher]

Good, john. Tell me when you reach 8 and we can start planning.

---

From: jules-ve...@googlegroups.com <jules-ve...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of John Lamb <cads...@gmail.com>

Sent: Tuesday, November 4, 2025 7:11 AM

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[John Lamb]

Dear Bill, have you a) read my Birkenhead 13,000 worder? b) read my three articles on Mysterious Island? A simple yes / no to each will do. Best John

On Mon, Nov 3, 2025 at 11:34 PM William Butcher <wbutch...@gmail.com> wrote:

Good, john. Tell me when you reach 8 and we can start planning.

---

From: jules-verne-forum@googlegroups.com <jules-verne-forum@googlegroups.com> on behalf of John Lamb <cads...@gmail.com>

Sent: Tuesday, November 4, 2025 7:11 AM

To: jules-verne-forum@googlegroups.com <jules-verne-forum@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: [JVF] A message from Kenneth Lamb

 

Fine by me William.

On Mon, Nov 3, 2025 at 11:02 PM William Butcher <wbutch...@gmail.com> wrote:

riro, I can lower the insolence  bar to 10 books if you want.

---

From: jules-verne-forum@googlegroups.com <jules-verne-forum@googlegroups.com> on behalf of John Lamb <cads...@gmail.com>

Sent: Monday, November 3, 2025 10:05 PM

To: jules-verne-forum@googlegroups.com <jules-verne-forum@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: [JVF] A message from Kenneth Lamb

Dear Bill, I see you are no longer as sure these days about Flourens? Does this mean you were wrong?....your Flourens article is still late... I have given you Semmes you give me Flourens. You do not like being pushed do you and yet I encourage you to push me. On the major points you will be proved wrong ..it is only a matter of time. I gave you Birkenhead but you will not give me Macau, Lincoln or Truro...because like Flourens there is nothing in these places to give. Unlike Birkenhead there are no eleven references in Verne's  novels, no Alburkahs, no Olmsteds, no World's first public park, no Birkenhead drill, no Civil War links, no Hawthornes, O'Connells, no Great Easterns, no cables, no end of the Civil War, no Brasseys, Fields, Bennetts, Vanderbilts, Napoleon III's, Ismays and Lairds, no Roburs, no Livingstones, no George Francis Trains, no Alabama's, no Laird Rams, no Semmes,  no Scotias, no Maurys, no Baden Powells, no Mallory and Irvines and definitely no links with Mysterious Island.   Best John.   p.s. I will give you a bit longer on the coursework if that helps.

On Mon, 3 Nov 2025, 11:56 John Lamb, <cads...@gmail.com> wrote:

Don stated it was two languages that Verne did not speak ...not me. I was merely answering his claim and then you  answered it for me. I do not think it is beyond Verne's intelligence to find the past tense of the English  of 'to sink' or the 'Icelandic' for 'great eagle' re Saknussemm.  Birkenhead /Laird's/ Semmes / Alabama are mentioned in eleven Verne novels and yet this seems to mean nothing to either of  you in the context of the Semmes Nemo 100 links. You prefer to make analogies with fairies which is subtly disrespectful but admittedly well done.  I ask again...yes or no....have you read my 13,000 word article on why Birkenhead fascinated  Jules Verne  and how it  inputted into his work and have you read my three articles taking you through the whole of Mysterious Island being  on a precise one for one template of Birkenhead and the Wirral Peninsula? Any evidence is the sum of the parts... and because it is Jules Verne there are many parts. So I ask you too have you read the articles?   I maintain that I have answered two questions that Bill has no chance of answering in terms of the criteria   and answered one question that Alex has no chance of answering in terms of the criteria....all supported by articles I do not believe you have yet read. 

On Mon, 3 Nov 2025, 10:53 William Butcher, <wbutch...@gmail.com> wrote:

Riro, wrong again!

On Mon, 3 Nov 2025, 17:54 John Lamb, <cads...@gmail.com> wrote:

It was not me that came up with the fact stating 'Nemo is Flourens' it was William Butcher. In the  novel Arne Saknussemm actually does create a cipher in Runes and Latin  (two languages that Verne did not speak) so you are saying why would he do something that he has already done in the novel...this is nonsensical.   Have you read my three submissions on Mysterious Island?    Have you read my 13,000 word article on why Birkenhead must have fascinated Jules Verne? If you had you would not have to ask the questions you have asked. Have you read how the cipher of Arne Saknussemm feeds into the Icelandic Snaefells scenes in A Journey to the Centre of the Earth? You say Saknussemm may be a cipher, then should we not work together to see whether it is based on reading my other submissions....no, people on this forum started the ridicule, namely Alex and Bill and that is unbecoming of a great author. I have said before Nemo finds Christian redemption in Mysterious Island and that may be said for Raphael Semmes. I will post how Saknussemm feeds into Birkenhead in the next day or two...I am sure that will be ridiculed as 'coincidence' too. Please answer the question ast whether you have read my articles because it is pertinent to any discussion. Best John

On Mon, 3 Nov 2025, 08:57 'Don Sample' via Jules Verne Forum, <jules-verne-forum@googlegroups.com> wrote:





People don’t come up with explanations for how Nemo might be based on Flourens, or any other historical figures, because we don’t think he was based on any single figure, or even a mashup of two or three historical figures.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas is a work of fiction, and Nemo is a fictional character, given characteristics necessary to serve the plot of the story Verne wanted to tell. He may have drawn inspiration from some historical figures. Semmes might even have been one of them, but any resemblance to him is much more likely to be coincidental.

Arne Saknussemm might be a complicated cypher in two languages Verne didn’t speak, celebrating the actions of a man whose cause Verne loathed, or it might be a name that Verne made up to sound like what he thought an Icelandic name would sound like.

Yes, sometimes Verne would use cyphers in the plots of his stories, but those cyphers were relevant to those stories, and would be resolved in those stories.

And why would Verne be so obsessed with a town in England (a country he didn’t seem to care for much) that he visited once, that he built an entire island around it?

On Nov 3, 2025, at 1:34 AM, John Lamb <cads...@gmail.com> wrote:



Re Saknussemm, you will see from previous posts that we have always stated that only the last two words in Semmes sunk arna are read backwards and this is consistent in syllable terms with  Verne's coded name  references of Ardan and  Munbar. Yet again people pick up on summaries in this forum while exposing themselves as not having read the details in previous posts. The real and undeniable fact remains however that Alex, the editor of Verniana can not answer his question re the inspiration for Nemo, even if I widen it out to 'one or more historical figures' which I am happy to do. Bill can can not answer his two questions  a) because it is impossible to expand on the constraints of Nemo being based on Flourens to even come close to my 732 word summary on Nemo being based on Semmes never mind the expanded 100 points and b) Bill can not also not come close to Birkenhead being an inspiration for Verne given the criteria I gave him,  even if we expand Macau, Truro and Lincoln (his choice of potential locational control experiments) in to Scotland, Nantes or Amiens. Have you even read my 13,000 worder on Birkenhead?...I suggest you do. As I have said, this should set alarm bells ringing. I also suggest you read my three submissions on Mysterious Island as that really is home territory for me. Aaahh can't you just smell the fresh air! Best John

On Mon, 3 Nov 2025, 00:45 William Butcher, <wbutch...@gmail.com> wrote:

Wrong! 

Verne never had a 2-novel or a 3-novel contract.

I'm glad you're leaving the JVF.  perhaps you could have a word with Riro? Hardly anyone would regret his departure!

You say "this forum ... seems to be run by an Emperor who
has surrounded himself with loyal minions...". That reveals more about you than anything else.

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