Jules Verne(1828 — 1905)
Jules Verne
France
7 min read
A French writer of the 19th century, Jules Verne is considered the father of science fiction. His adventure novels blending exploration, technology, and imagination captivated generations of readers and continue to influence literature and cinema.
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth. »
« Everything a man can imagine, other men can make real. »
Key Facts
- 1863: Publication of 'Five Weeks in a Balloon', his first major literary success
- 1870: Publication of 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas', a landmark work of speculative fiction
- 1873: Publication of 'Around the World in Eighty Days'
- 1874–1905: Prolific output of approximately 60 science fiction and adventure novels
- Prediction of future technologies: submarines, electric vehicles, space travel
Works & Achievements
The first novel in the 'Extraordinary Voyages' series, it launched Verne's collaboration with Hetzel and established his formula: adventure, science, and geography intertwined.
An imaginary exploration of the Earth's depths showcasing Verne's enthusiasm for geology and the emerging natural sciences.
A visionary novel describing a space journey by cannon, foreshadowing with uncanny accuracy certain real aspects of twentieth-century lunar missions.
Verne's masterpiece, imagining the submarine Nautilus and the mysterious Captain Nemo, iconic figures in world literature.
A worldwide success featuring Phileas Fogg in a race against the clock, symbolizing the acceleration of the world in the age of railways and steam.
A scientific Robinsonade in which castaways rebuild a civilization through their technical knowledge, a hymn to progress and resourcefulness.
An epic adventure set in Tsarist Russia, one of Verne's most popular novels, adapted numerous times for stage and screen.
Anecdotes
At the age of eleven, Jules Verne attempted to secretly board a merchant ship in Nantes to sail to the Indies. His father barely caught up with him at Paimbœuf. Young Jules reportedly promised: 'From now on, I will only travel in dreams.' This promise became the driving force behind his entire literary work.
Jules Verne was a close friend of publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel, who played a decisive role in his career. Hetzel initially rejected the manuscript of 'Five Weeks in a Balloon', then bought it back and published it in 1863, launching the 'Extraordinary Voyages' series. Without this visionary publisher, Verne might have abandoned literature altogether.
In 1872, Verne settled in Amiens with his family. He led a highly structured life: rising at 5 in the morning, writing until 11, then various other activities. In this way he wrote more than eighty novels, often working on several manuscripts simultaneously, with an almost scientific rigor.
Jules Verne owned a yacht, the Saint-Michel III, aboard which he sailed the Mediterranean and along the European coasts. These sea voyages directly fed into his maritime novels, most notably 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea'. He was as much a man of action as a man of letters.
In 1886, Jules Verne was the victim of an attack: his nephew Gaston, suffering from mental illness, fired two revolver shots at him. One of the bullets passed through his ankle and seriously wounded him. He walked with a limp for the rest of his life. This traumatic event noticeably darkened the tone of his later novels.
Primary Sources
We are floating above the African continent; the air is pure, the Victoria moves with the regularity of a clock; the wind is in our favour. We must take advantage of it.
The sea is everything! It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and life-giving. It is an immense wilderness where man is never alone, for he feels life quivering at his side.
Mr. Fogg took leave of his colleagues at the Reform Club, went down to his study, gave his instructions to Passepartout, and that very evening he embarked for Dover and Calais.
I work every morning with the same ardour. The sciences obsess me and I seek to make them accessible through storytelling. That is my mission.
Key Places
Jules Verne's birthplace, a major trading port that awakened his fascination with travel and ships from childhood.
Verne moved here to study law and then launched his literary career, mingling with the bohemian and scientific circles of the Second Empire.
The city where Jules Verne settled permanently from 1872 onwards and where he wrote the vast majority of his works. He died there in 1905.
A small seaside resort where Verne often moored his yacht and found inspiration for his maritime tales.
One of the stopovers on his yacht voyages; Verne admired the Nordic landscapes that fed the settings of several of his novels.
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Cinq semaines en ballon
1863
Voyage au centre de la Terre
1864
De la Terre à la Lune
1865
Vingt mille lieues sous les mers
1870
Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours
1872
L'Île mystérieuse
1874
