Jules Verne (1828 - 1905)

Jules Gabriel Verne was born on February 8, 1828 in the port of Nantes, from a prosperous lawyer. Verne moved to Paris, where he studied law. In spite of busy writing, Verne managed to pass his law degree.
When his career as an author was only marginally satisfying, Verne turned to stockbroking, an occupation which he held until his successful tale Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863), published in the series Voyages Extraordinaires, with the cooperation of Jules Hetzel, a publisher and writer for children
Verne's novels soon became enormously popular throughout the world.
Around the World in Eighty Days was about Philèas Fogg's daring but realistic travel feat on a wager, based on a real journey. A Journey to the Centre of the Earth depicted an expedition that enters in the hollow heart of the Earth. In Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Verne introduced his superhero, the misanthropic Captain Nemo and his elaborate submarine, Nautilus. The Mysterious Island was about industrial exploits of men stranded on an island.
In the first part of his career Verne expressed the optimism about progress, while in his later novels the author's pessimism reflected the doom-ladden fin-de-siècle atmosphere. In Robur the Conqueror (1886) Verne predicted the birth of heavier-than-air craft, but in the sequel, Master of the World (1904), the great inventor Robur has descended into madness, personifying the destructive possibilities of science.
In the contrast with the adventurous spirit of his novels, Verne spent an uneventful life. He married at age 28 Honorine de Viane, a young widow, acquiring two step-children and lived with his family in a large provincial house and yachted occasionally. For over 40 years he published 65 novels, some twenty short stories and essays, thirty plays and also opera librettos and two geographical works. He died in Amiens on March 24, 1905.

links: - Jules Verne home page