- Biography
- Early years and academic performance
- Escape
- University studies and beginnings in writing
- Theatrical debut
- Editor PJ Hetzel
- Rise of his artistic career and literary journeys
- Some aspects of the author's personal life
- Last years
- Death
- Style
- Main works
- The Extraordinary Journeys: Worlds Known and Unknown (1828-1905)
- Five weeks in a balloon (1863)
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869)
- Paris in the 20th century (1994)
- Other
- References
Jules Verne (1828-1905) was a renowned French writer whose intelligent imagination fostered the foundations of what is now known as science fiction. He is considered ahead of his time, since many of his literary projects could be carried out decades later thanks to scientific advances. Verne also excelled in dramaturgy and poetry.
From a very young age, Verne demonstrated a remarkable passion for geography, science, the sea, and expeditions to unknown places. He soon realized that he was bored in the typical married bourgeois life in charge of managing stocks.
Portrait of Jules Verne. Source: See page for author
For this reason, in 1862 Verne made his first fiction novel, which was inspired by the experiences of Madar, an adventurous man who wanted to propose the balloon as a means of transport, convinced that the balloon would revolutionize the way man travels. With this type of writing by Verne, a literature for the youth began to be born.
Verne was characterized by knowing how to combine fantastic elements with scientific knowledge in an intelligent and well-structured way, which made the difference between reality and fiction almost imperceptible. This can be clearly exemplified in one of his most famous works: Journey to the Center of the Earth, published in 1864.
After his first success, Verne wrote other works that were equally acclaimed, such as From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon (1865). He also wrote a very famous trilogy, adapted countless times for film: Captain Grant's Sons (1868), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and The Mysterious Island (1874).
Due to their fame among young readers, literary writers and critics subjected their texts to strong denigrations, arguing that they were poorly written books that taught young people little about good forms of writing.
However, over the years, Verne's imagination and his place within world literature have been vindicated, since his revolutionary ideas (such as the creation of one of the first diving suits) they demonstrated to the most skeptical readers that he was a literary mind far advanced for his time.
Biography
Early years and academic performance
Jules Gabriel Verne was born in the city of Nantes, France, on February 8, 1828. His parents were Pierre Verne, who was a notable lawyer in the region, and Sophie Allotte de la Fuye. Julio is the oldest of the five children of marriage.
In 1839 the young Verne attended the Saint-Stanislas educational institution, where he began to demonstrate his skills in the disciplines of geography, Latin, Greek, and singing. As a gift for finishing his studies, Pierre Verne decided to give his two sons a sloop, a small boat that consists of a single upper deck.
In principle, the young brothers planned that they would descend the Loire until they reached the open sea. However, the young adventurer gave up on this adventure, as he considered that they had not made a solid planning about their trip.
Escape
According to some historians, Verne ran away from home at the age of eleven with the aim of becoming a cabin boy in order to raise money to buy a necklace for his cousin, as he was in love with her. His father, enraged, managed to catch up with him before the ship sailed.
From this moment, Verne began to write fantastic stories of adventures and travels, also influenced by the stories of his teacher, since her husband was a sailor.
From the beginning, the future writer showed a strange interest in poetry and science, disciplines that are considered completely opposite. He was very curious about the world, so he collected different scientific articles and brochures; this curiosity remained latent in Verne for the rest of his life.
University studies and beginnings in writing
Jules Verne at age 25 (1853)
In 1847 the young man began to study law in the city of Paris while suffering the disappointment of his cousin, who had become engaged to another man. At that time he wrote his first play, called Alexander VI.
During this period he was introduced into the literary circles of France thanks to the influence of his uncle. Through this group, Verne had the opportunity to meet the Dumas writers, both father and son.
In 1849 Verne obtained his law degree and decided to stay in Paris for a time. A few months later, the young writer realized that he wanted to dedicate himself to writing, so he kept writing plays. Upon learning of this, his father stopped financing him.
Verne spent all his savings on books, spending countless hours locked up in the different libraries of the capital. He had very little money to feed himself, which caused terrible illnesses.
This information came to historians through the letters that Verne sent to his mother, in which he described all the hunger that he had to go through in order to keep up with his literary work. Due to the poor diet, Julio suffered from intestinal incontinence, diabetes and facial paralysis.
Theatrical debut
In 1850 Verne managed to premiere several plays thanks to his friendship with Dumas father. His dramatic texts met with modest success and he decided to invest the money he earned in a piano.
During those years he traveled to Scotland, Norway and Iceland. Later she met the adventurer and journalist Nadar, who served as the inspiration for the play Five Weeks in a Globe.
Thanks to Nadar, Verne met the one who would be his editor, who at that time was the owner of the Education and Recreation Magazine. Through this contact, Verne managed to change his life completely and make his way among the most widely read writers of his time.
Editor PJ Hetzel
If Verne had not stumbled upon Hetzel, it is likely that the author's literary spirits would have been diminished.
Hetzel began his career through the pious book trade, but he also had an interest in literature and history. This editor was a lover of the novelties of his time, so he was always looking for new talents.
In 1850, Hetzel was the most important publisher of the century, publishing the works of great French writers such as Hugo and Mitchelet, among others. The editor decided to found a quality magazine whose foundations were to be instructive but recreational, suitable for all ages.
Jean Macé was in charge of the educational part and the writer Stahl of the literary part. He only lacked a collaborator for the scientific part and that is how Verne came to the hands of PJ Hetzel.
Rise of his artistic career and literary journeys
Photograph of Jules Verne, by Félix Nadar (1878)
One of Verne's first science fiction works was written during a trip to Scotland in 1859; it was titled Paris in the 20th century. This novel was never published while the author was alive, as Pierre-Jules Hetzel considered it to be a very pessimistic work that would not fit in with the literary demands of young French people.
After this, Verne began to write a complete saga of stories which he nicknamed The Extraordinary Journeys. Within this range are the texts of Five weeks in a balloon, Journey to the center of the Earth, From the earth to the Moon, Around the world in 80 days and Miguel Strogoff, among others.
His famous novel Around the World in Eighty Days was adapted for the stage, and Verne was able to participate in the montage of the play. In fact, the author was personally in charge of checking the basket in which Phileas Fogg and Passepartout would be transported, located on the top of a real elephant.
As a curious anecdote, one of the parts of the stage fell during a scene, so the animal was scared and fled in terror with Verne in tow, traveling all over the boulevard des Capuchins. Luckily, the tamer was able to reach him before someone got hurt.
From its success, Verne had the opportunity to buy three boats which he christened Saint Michel I, II and III. This allowed him to make many trips by sea, knowing different cities and cultures. All this knowledge served as inspiration for his works.
To write his novel Twenty thousand leagues of submarine journey, Verne was inspired by the Vigo estuary, where the War of Succession between the Spanish and the English took place in the 18th century.
For this reason, in 1878 the author decided to travel to this place aboard his ship Saint Michel III. Verne was fascinated by this site and was a source of inspiration to continue writing.
He also traveled to Lisbon, where he made stops in Tangier, Malaga, Cádiz, Tetouan, Gibraltar and Algiers. For two more years Verne continued to travel to different countries such as Ireland, Scotland, Norway, England and the Baltic.
Some aspects of the author's personal life
Regarding his personal life, Verne married Honorine Deviane Morel in 1857, hoping to find emotional stability. However, married life soon bored the writer, so he preferred to make long trips to find himself far from home.
As a result of that marriage, only Michel Verne was born, a rebellious and stubborn son, whom his father interned in an asylum on two occasions. Michel could never forgive Julio for this, so there was always a deep gap between the two writers.
Last years
Verne's tomb in Amiens. Source: fickr, leposs
In 1886, when Jules Verne was 58 years old, he was the victim of a tragic event: his nephew Gastón, with whom he had a pleasant relationship, shot him in the leg for no reason. This caused the writer a limp from which he could never recover. As a consequence, Gastón was confined to an asylum.
In 1887 PJ Hetzel passed away, causing Verne to begin writing dark novels. It is considered that Verne also began to write darker works since Hetzel's son, in charge of his father's business, was not as meticulous as the famous editor.
In 1888 Verne entered the political sphere of his country. He participated actively in the politics of the city of Amiens, where he was chosen as a city councilor. This position he held for 15 years, tasked with establishing a wide range of improvements for Amiens.
Before becoming seriously ill, Verne agreed to join the Esperanto group in Amiens, committing himself to writing a book using this language. The book was titled The Impressive Adventure of the Barsac Mission, but it could not be finished by the author. When it was published, it no longer had any trace of the Esperanto language.
Death
The writer Jules Verne died on March 24, 1905, a product of diabetes that he had suffered for decades. He died in the tranquility of his home and was buried in La Madeleine Cemetery.
His son Michel Verne was in charge of publishing the author's last works, such as The Lighthouse at the End of the World and The Invasion of the Sea. Michel made some very personal and notorious changes to his father's work, but this became known decades later, at the end of the 20th century.
Style
Regarding his own texts, Verne affirmed that he had never studied science, but thanks to the habit of reading he managed to acquire a lot of knowledge that was useful in the development of his novels.
Verne confessed that he always carried a pencil and a notebook with him, in order to immediately write down a paragraph or an idea that he could use in his books.
When the author was asked why he wrote scientific novels, he replied that his inspiration came from the fact that he devoted himself to the study of geography.
Jules Verne stated that he had a great love for maps, as well as for the great explorers of humanity. From there came his inspiration to write a series of geographical novels.
Regarding the accuracy of his descriptions, Verne argued that the scientific coincidences were due to the fact that, before beginning to write a novel, the author made a large compilation of books, newspapers and scientific magazines that could be used to support his creations.
Main works
The Extraordinary Journeys: Worlds Known and Unknown (1828-1905)
Verne's Extraordinary Journeys were intended to show all of the Earth to his readers; hence the subtitle of the saga: "the known and unknown worlds."
Thanks to his research, Verne was aware of the great expeditions of the time, which were financed by the emerging imperialism of the time and which led to unexplored places, especially in the interior of the African continent.
In total there were 60 novels, among them: Around the World in Eighty Days (1873), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Around the Mon to (1870), The Sphinx of the Ice (1897), The Superb Orinoco (1898), Miguel Strogoff (1876), The mysterious island (1874), The children of Captain Grant (1867), etc.
Five weeks in a balloon (1863)
About this novel, the author established that he had chosen Africa as the place where the adventures took place since it was the least known continent at that time, so he could introduce more fantastic elements.
However, Verne affirmed that he carried out a preliminary investigation before writing the text since, despite the fictional elements, the writer wanted to stay as close as possible to the reality of his time.
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)
This novel was so important at the time that different audiovisual materials inspired by this work are still being produced today, especially for the big screen.
In this text, the protagonists encounter different geographies that amaze and frighten them, such as a series of caves, an underground sea and a volcano.
The protagonist of the story is Axel, a young man who lived with his uncle Otto Lidenbrock, who is a genius in mineralogy. The adventure begins when they receive a scroll of runic origin that has a hidden message; when deciphering it, they discover that it is a map to get to the center of the Earth.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869)
This famous work was published in the Magazine of Education and Creativity from 1869 to 1870. The main character, Captain Nemo, is a violent and vindictive man since his daughters were raped and his wife axed to death, just like his father. For this reason, he is in charge of sinking frigates without having any mercy with the crew.
The story is told by a professor named Pierre Aronnax, who is taken prisoner by this terrible captain and is led aboard the Nautilus submarine through the oceans of the Earth's core.
Paris in the 20th century (1994)
In 1863 Verne had written a work called Paris in the 20th century, which was not published as it was considered too gloomy for the time. However, this text turns out to be an almost exact 20th century prediction; the book tells the life of a young man who lives in a kind of glass skyscraper.
In this novel, humanity has gas cars, very fast trains, calculators and a communications network (something similar to the internet today).
Despite this, the protagonist is not happy, so he goes to a tragic end. The work was rediscovered by the author's great-grandson in 1989, so it could finally be published in 1994.
Other
- A drama in Mexico (1845)
- The country of furs (1873)
- The five hundred million of the begún (1879)
- Maston's Secret (1889)
- The Sphinx of the Ice (1897)
- The castaways of the Jonathan (1897)
- Invasion of the Sea (1905)
- The Lighthouse at the End of the World (1905)
- The Golden Volcano (1906)
- Wilhelm Storitz's Secret (19010)
- The Eternal Adam (1910)
- The impressive adventure of the Barsac mission (1914)
References
- (SA) (sf) Jules Verne. Retrieved on February 15, 2019 from Euelearning books: ub.edu
- Fundación Telefónica (sf.) Julio Verne: The limits of the imagination. Notebook for teachers. Retrieved on February 15, 2019 from Espacio Fundación Telefónica Madrid: Espacio.fundaciontelefonica.com
- García, H. (2005) Julio Verne: The birth of a new literary genre. Retrieved on February 15, 2019 from How do you see ?: comoves.unam.mx
- Prieto, S. (sf.) Jules Verne (1828-1905). Literature, didacticism and geography. Retrieved on February 15, 2019 from Dendra Médica: dendramedica.es
- Sanjuan, J. (2005) Jules Verne: A mysterious island. Retrieved on February 15, 2019 from Dialnet, Cuadernos del Minotauro: Dialnet.com
- Verne, J. (sf) Journey to the Center of the Eart. Retrieved on February 15, 2019 from Ibi books: ibiblio.org