Jules Gabriel Verne (1828 - 1905), an enormously popular French writer, is the
second most translated author in the world (according to UNESCO Index Translationum database) and
probably the most widely read novelist.
Creator of the geographic and scientific novel, he is also acknowledged as the founding father of modern science fiction.
He was born, lived most of his life and died in the
French seaport of Nantes, upriver from the Bay of Biscay.
In 1851 he graduated from the University of Law in Paris,
France.
For a short while he made a living as a playwright and operetta lyricist.
In 1863 he drew upon his interest in
natural science, technology, history and geography, studied geology, engineering and astronomy, and started writing a series
of 54 novels of extraordinary voyages written in form of travel books, in which he
anticipated with remarkable foresight many scientific and technological achievements of the 20th century, while catching the
enterprising spirit of the 19th century and its uncritical fascination about scientific progress and inventions.
He
predicted modern space travel, videophone, tank, artificial satellite, skyscraper etc, while inspiring some of the world's foremost
scientists.
Besides futuristic vision and scientific detail, his work depicts tension, adventure and humor.
Most of his
books have been translated into all European languages, Japanese and Arabic, and continue to be the inspiration for countless
theatre plays, motion pictures and television shows.
To quote Ray Bradbury (1920
- n/a): "...we are all, in one way or another, the children of Jules Verne."
Jules Verne's most famous
novels:
• Five Weeks in A Balloon = Cinq Semaines en Ballon
(1863)
• Journey to The Center of The Earth = Voyage au Centre de La
Terre (1864)
• From The Earth to The Moon = De La Terre à La Lune
(1865)
• Twenty Thousand Leagues under The Seas = Vingt Mille Lieues sous
Les Mers (1870)
• Around The World in Eighty Days = Le Tour du Monde en
Quatre-Vingts Jours (1873)
• The Mysterious Island = L'Île
Mystérieuse (1875)
• Michael Strogoff = Michel Strogoff
(1876) |
