JULES VERNE'S - PASSING

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What a wonderful imagination the French writer had. He was also a practical mariner, gaining much of his material from his travels, just like Herman Melville, for his Moby Dick. Jules Verne is best known for '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' and Around The World In Eighty Days. But he also authored a number of other popular novels, that made it onto the big screen, such as 'The Mysterious Island,' and 'Journey To The Centre Of The World.'

PASSING & POSTHUMOUS PUBLICATIONS

Though raised as a Roman Catholic, Verne gravitated towards deism. Some scholars believe his novels reflect a deist philosophy, as they often involve the notion of God or divine providence but rarely mention the concept of Christ.

On 9 March 1886, as Verne returned home, his twenty-six-year-old nephew, Gaston, shot at him twice with a pistol. The first bullet missed, but the second one entered Verne's left leg, giving him a permanent limp that could not be overcome. This incident was hushed up in the media, but Gaston spent the rest of his life in a mental asylum.

After the deaths of both his mother and Hetzel (who died in 1886), Jules Verne began publishing darker works. In 1888 he entered politics and was elected town councillor of Amiens, where he championed several improvements and served for fifteen years.

Verne was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1870. He was promoted to an Officier de la Légion d'honneur in 1892.

On 24 March 1905, while ill with diabetes, Verne died at his home in Amiens, 44 Boulevard Longueville (now Boulevard Jules-Verne).

His son, Michel Verne, oversaw the publication of the novels Invasion of the Sea and The Lighthouse at the End of the World after Jules's death. The Voyages extraordinaires series continued for several years afterwards at the same rate of two volumes a year.

It was later discovered that Michel Verne had made extensive changes in these stories, and the original versions were eventually published at the end of the 20th century by the Jules Verne Society (Société Jules Verne). In 1919, Michel Verne published The Barsac Mission (French: L'Étonnante Aventure de la Mission Barsac), whose original drafts contained references to Esperanto, a language that his father had been very interested in.

In 1989, Verne's great-grandson discovered his ancestor's as-yet-unpublished novel Paris in the Twentieth Century, which was subsequently published in 1994.

THE FATHER OF SCIENCE FICTION

Jules Verne hit his stride as a writer after meeting publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel, who nurtured many of the works that would comprise the author's Voyages Extraordinaires.

In all, Verne authored more than 60 books (most notably the 54 novels comprising the Voyages Extraordinaires), as well as dozens of plays, short stories and librettos. He conjured hundreds of memorable characters and imagined countless innovations years before their time, including the submarine, space travel, terrestrial flight and deep-sea exploration.

CLASSIC WORKS - Jules Verne is best known for 20,000 leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days, both of which became Hollywood classics. Jules Verne was and still remains one of the best-renowned science fiction authors. His books were decades and even centuries ahead of their time, and while the initial reception to some of his books may have been muted they have nevertheless continued to amaze many as well as influence scientific discourse and debates. He remains unparalleled when it comes to science fiction and here are some of his top books.

Jules Verne was the author of many adventure stories:

1  Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
2  Around the World in Eighty Days
3  Journey to the Center of the Earth
4  The Mysterious Island (Extraordinary Voyages #12)
5  From the Earth to the Moon
6  Michael Strogoff (Extraordinary Voyages, #14)
7  In Search of the Castaways; or the Children of Captain Grant (Extraordinary Voyages, #5)
8  Five Weeks in a Balloon

9  Round the Moon (Extraordinary Voyages, #7)
10 Adrift in the Pacific: Two Years Holiday (Extraordinary Voyages, #32)
11 The Master of the World (Extraordinary Voyages, #53)
12 The Adventures of Captain Hatteras
13 Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine; The Tribulations of a Chinese in China (Extraordinary Voyages, #19)
14 The Lighthouse at the End of the World
15 Mathias Sandorf (Extraordinary Voyages, #27)
16 Off On A Comet (Extraordinary Voyages, #15)
17 Los quinientos millones de la Begún (The five hundred million of the Begún)
18 Facing the Flag (Extraordinary Voyages, #42)
19 Un capitán de quince años (A fifteen year old captain)
20 El Testamento de un excentrico (The Testament of an eccentric)

Many people have used the eighty day target set by Jules Verne as the goalposts for their technology projects having been inspired by the famous French author. We are likewise enthused.

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  JULES VERNE, IS THE FATHER OF SCIENCE FICTION, MANY OF WHICH PREDICTIONS ARE REMARKABLY ACCURATE

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