Jules Verne

One of the world’s most renowned authors of science fiction, Jules Gabriel Verne, was born on February 8, 1828, in Nantes, to Pierre Verne, a prosperous lawyer, and his wife, Sophie. Legend has it that in 1839, when he was just eleven years old, Verne secretly embarked aboard a vessel bound to the Indies. When his father intercepted the ship at Paimboeuf, the young Verne had to promise him that in the future, he would travel "only in his imagination”.

In 1847, Verne went to Paris to study law, but the young Verne fell in love with literature, especially theatre. He wrote several plays, worked as secretary of the Théâtre Lyrique, and published short stories and scientific essays. During a visit to Amiens in 1856, Verne met and fell in love with Madame Morel, whom he married the following year. He then became a stockbroker on the Paris Exchange.

In 1863, Verne published his first “science fiction” work, Cinq semaines en ballon (Five Weeks in a Balloon). Initially serialised in Le Magasin d’éducation et de récréation, the novel became an international best-seller, and Verne quit his job at the stock market to become a full-time writer.

Verne’s subsequent novels were immensely successful. A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) describes the adventures of a party of explorers and scientists who descend the crater of an Icelandic volcano and discover an underground world. The Adventures of Captain Hatteras (1866) centres on an expedition to the North Pole. In From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and its sequel, Round the Moon (1870), Verne describes how a group of adventurers arrange to be fired from a gigantic cannon in a hollow projectile that lifts them out of Earth’s gravity and takes them close to the moon. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) relates the voyages of Nautilus, a submarine built and commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo. Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) is the story of a successful bet made by inventor Phineas Fogg, who is obsessed with punctuality. Other popular novels include The Mysterious Island (1875) and Michael Strogoff (1876).

During these years gained worldwide fame and a modest fortune. Verne settled with his family in Amiens, purchased several yachts and sailed to many European countries.

His interest in scientific progress was often balanced by his religious faith. In his later novel, The Purchase of the North Pole, he showed to be aware of the social dangers of uncontrolled technological advances.

In 1886 Verne fell victim to a shooting accident which left him disabled. The man who shot him proved to be a nephew suffering from mental instability. This incident served to reinforce Verne’s natural tendency toward depression. In 1902 he became partially blind and died three years later, on March 24, 1905, in Amiens.

He left, in his desk, a drawer full of nearly completed manuscripts. His son Michel edited and published several manuscripts such as Le Volcan d’or (The Golden Volcano), L’Agence Thompson and Co. (The Thompson Travel Agency), La Chasse au météore (The Chase of the Golden Meteor), Le Pilote du Danube (The Danube Pilot), Les Naufragés du Jonathan (The Survivors of the Jonathan), Le Secret de Wilhelm Storitz (The Secret of Wilhelm Storitz), and L’Étonnante aventure de la mission Barsac (The Barsac Mission). By comparing the original manuscripts with the versions published after his death, modern researchers discovered that most of the stories were entirely rewritten by Michel. The discovery provoked a mixed scholarly reaction, and the debate is continuing.

Verne’s works have been translated into more than 140 languages, making him one of the world’s most translated authors, and several successful movies were made from his novels. His influence extends to the world of science and technology, inspiring generations of scientists, inventors, and explorers.