Jules Verne:

Father of Science Fiction

Travelling around the world in 80 days is not a pipedream in this day and age when advances in air and sea transportation have enabled people to travel around the world in much less time. Actually, two days would be all it takes to fly around the world now.

However, when Jules Verne wrote the novel 'Around the World in Eighty Days' in 1873, this was such an outlandish concept. Sea travel was slow and rather dangerous and air travel was unheard of. The much-read and translated French author was a visionary and introduced many concepts such as air, space and underwater travel, which were extremely advanced for that era. He was one of the first writers to try his hand at science fiction, and together with H.G. Wells, was known as the 'Father of Science Fiction' due to their visions and future predictions which have come true years later.

Verne had predicted the invention of helicopters, submarines, projectors and jukeboxes, and also the existence of hydrothermal vents which were discovered only many years later.

Jules Gabriel Verne was born in Nantes, France on February 8, 1828 to Sophie Henriette Allotte de la Fuye and Pierre Verne, a lawyer. He was the oldest of five children and spent his early years at home with his parents. It's said that his imagination and thirst for travel, adventure and exploration, which featured prominently in his fiction, were sparked by the many boats and ships that were seen on the nearby Loire River.

At the age of nine, Verne and his brother were sent to boarding school at St. Donatien College where he studied Latin. An anecdote from the era describes how the boy was whipped by his father after being caught trying to sneak on to a ship bound for India. After completing his education, he was sent by his father to Paris, to study law. After obtaining his law degree in 1850, Verne started focusing on writing fiction and theatre pieces. His father was not pleased and withdrew financial support, which thrust Verne into a career as a stockbroker. During this era, he made friends with great French authors such as Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo, who gave him advice and tips on writing.

Verne married Honorine de Viane Morel in 1857 and their son Michel Jean was born in 1861. Verne's work by then had been rejected by many publishers, but things changed when he met Pierre-Jules Hetzel, an important French publisher of the 19th Century. 'Five Weeks in a Balloon' was thus published in 1863. Verne followed Hetzel's advice and added comic touches, changed sad endings to happy ones and toned down some of his political messages. This recipe was successful and the two worked together until Hetzel's death.

'Around the World in Eighty Days' first appeared in a magazine in 1872. Many of his novels were serialised in various magazines and newspapers before they were published as books.

His works include, 'The Journey to the Centre of the Earth' (1864), '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' (1865-1870), 'From the Earth to the Moon' (1865) and 'The Mysterious Island' (1875). This series, describing travel and adventure, was collectively known as 'Extraordinary Voyages' ('Les Voyages Extraordinaire') and comprised 54 novels. He wrote 65 novels in total besides many short stories, stage plays and poems.

'Paris in the 20th Century', written by Verne in 1863, described a world with glass skyscrapers, high-speed trains, gas-powered automobiles, air-conditioning, calculators, television and a worldwide communication network, but wasn't published on Hetzel's advice. The manuscript was discovered many years later, in 1989, by Verne's great grandson who published it in 1994. Verne is the second most translated novelist in the world, after Agatha Christie. However, substandard translations of his work in the early period led to misconceptions that his work couldn't be enjoyed by adults. Therefore, he wasn't very well received in the English-speaking world of the day. It was only after 1965, with better and more accurate translations coming out, that his prophetic vision gained a foothold around the world.

The popularity of his work has led to many of his novels being made into films. In fact, the movie adaptation of 'Around the World in Eighty Days' won the Academy Award for the Best Picture in 1956. Verne was appointed Chevalier (Knight) of Legion d'honneur in 1870. Having being shot in the leg by his mentally unsound nephew in 1886, he acquired a permanent limp.

He entered the political arena in 1888 by being appointed town councillor of Amiens. He served in this capacity for 15 years and was credited with many accomplishments.

Verne died at the age of 77 in Amiens, France on March 24, 1905 and was buried at Madeleine Cemetery. There have been recent moves to re-bury him in the Pantheon, alongside other literary greats of the country. The 'Extraordinary Voyages' series was continued for many years after his death by his son, with novels such as 'Invasion of the Sea' and 'The Lighthouse at the End of the World' being released. Michel Verne had published these books after effecting many changes and the original versions were released only at the end of the 20th Century.

- Indunil Thenuwara