JULES VERNE
French author (1828-1905)
Biography:
Jules Verne was born in Nantes in 1828. He was supposed to take his father job and study Law, but once in Paris, he dreamt of becoming a writer. He met Alexander Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers, who took young Verne under his wing.
The first publisher to recognize Verne's talent was Hetzel, who signed a contract with the author for 20 years. Verne was a very prolific writer, because a part from novels, he also wrote short-stories, essays, plays (dramas, comedies, libretti...) and poems. But he will always be remembered for his Voyages extraordinaires, the world-famous 54 novels published during his lifetime. This colection includes Cinc Semaines en balloon (Five Weeks in Balloon), 1862, Votage au Centre de la Terre (Journey to the Center of the Earth), 1864, De la Terre a la Lune (From the Earth to the Moon), 1865, Les Enfants du Capitaine Grant (The Children of Captain Grant), 1866, 20.000 Lieues sous les mers (20.000 Leagues under the Sea), 1869, Autour de la Lune (Round the Moon), 1869, Le Tour du Monde en Quatre-vingt jour (Around the World in 80 days), 1872, L'Ile Mysterieuse (Mysterious Island), 1873-1874, Michel Strogoff, 1875, L'Ecole des Robinsons (School of Robinsons), 1881 and Deux ans de Vacances (Two Years Holiday, 1886. You may find that English translations have many different titles for the same book.
His imagination and his knowledge on sciences made him write about all subjects: incredible and impossible travels (which Verne's hand turned to be plausible to the readers!), human experiences, contemporary history... whatever hje wrote about was an immidiate success.
Jules Verne, probably the most widely read novelist in the world, died on March 24, 1905, at the age of seventy-seven, almost literally with pen in hand.
Jules Verne, author of illustrated works:
Mysterious island, illustrated by Newell Convers Wyeth.
Michel Strogoff, illustrated by Newell Convers Wyeth, Scribner, 1918.
Le aventure della Famiglia Topone, illustrated by Gino Baldo.
Cinq semaines en Ballon, illustrated by Yves Beaujard, éd. G.P., 1979.
De la terre à la lune, illustrated by Luc Weissmuller, Hachette, 1990.
Voyage au centre de la terre, illustrated by Luc Weissmuller, Hachette, 1993.
Vingt mille lieues sous les mers, illustrated by Luc Weissmuller, Hachette, 1994.
L'île mystérieuse, illustrated by Luc Weissmuller, Hachette, 1996.
Le tour du monde en 80 jours, illustrated by Luc Weissmuller, Hachette, 1997.
Le tour du monde en 80 jours, illustrated by Christophe Merlin, Nathan, 2000.
On the Internet:
Visit Jule Vernes' Collection.