In Search of the Castaways (Illustrated)
Jules Verne (1828-1905) was a French novelist who pioneered the genre of science fiction. He maintained a large library and always kept up on scientific and technological progress. A true visionary with an extraordinary talent for writing adventure stories, his writings incorporated the latest scientific knowledge of his day and envisioned technological developments that were years ahead of their time. Verne wrote about undersea, air, and space travel long before any navigable or practical craft were invented. Verne, along with H.G. Wells, is considered the "Father of Science Fiction." Verne wrote over 50 novels and numerous short stories. Some of his most successful novels appeared as a series collectively known as Extraordinary Voyages. This series included such notable works as Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1872). These timeless classics hold the same fascination today as they did when they were first written. Verne is one of the two most translated authors of all time. Due to the popularity of his novels, many of them have been made into feature length films.