Cryptology Commentary on the cryptologic episode in Jules Verne: A Journey to the Center of the Earth

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A Journey to the Center of the Earth is the first novel after Poe's Goldbug in which cryptography plays a significant role. As we expect from Verne the episode is quite fascinating, and the protagonists, though from cool Hamburg, show a true french temperament — they behave like Louis de Funès, screem, jump around, and remorselessly act as pains in the necks of their fellow human beings. And — likewise typical of Jules Verne — on closer examination the story contains lots of inconsistencies: Why should a scientist write a latin text in runes? The only apparent reason is a mystery at the start of the story. (Or, as Harald Sewerin pointed out to me, because he was prosecuted for heresy and tried to conceal the text over and above — wouldn't this be an aggravation of his heresy?)

Also the cryptanalysis is not exactly a glorious chapter in his CV. Simply counting the letters obviously reveals the type of this cipher: a transposition. And this he guesses correctly. Now the double M and the big S in the first row catch our eyes — a strong hint at the namen Saknussemm. Take this as a probable word to get an excellent entry point for anagramming. Looking at the first line of the uncomprehensible pretended plaintext no one can ignore the letters »Arne Saknussemm« in reverse order.

Instead of these simple observations Verne presents a quite farfetched, even absurd solution of the cryptogram. It's hard to believe that Saknussemm used light weight paper that is transparent in the weak light of the fire. And even then — Verne completely missed the effect that the gleaming letters would be in mirror writing,