Jules Verne

## Alias: The Father of Science Fiction

A 19th century French novelist, poet, and playwright who was originally brought up to follow his father's footsteps as a lawyer but quit the profession early on to pursue a career in literature. Possibly best known for his collaborative works with his publisher, Pierre-Jules Hetzel, Jules Verne is the author of such widely popular and researched literary classics as *Journey to the Center of the Earth* (1864), *Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea* (1870), and *Around the World in Eighty Days* (1873). Known in Europe for his avant-garde and surrealist influences, other English-speaking countries consider his work more akin to children's books and fantastical genre-fiction due to extreme abridgement and misleading translations.

Verne is the second most-translated author in the world and has been since 1979, ranking between Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare. His nickname as the "Father of Science Fiction" was given by H. G. Wells and Hugo Gernsback.

## Biography

Born February 8, 1828 in Nantes France, Jules Gabriel Verne was brought up on Île Feydeau, a small artificial island on the Loire River within the town of Nantes. He was born to Pierre Verne, an attorney, and Sophie Allote de la Fuÿe, a woman from a family of navigators and shipowners.

In 1834, Verne was sent to a boarding school at 5 Place du Bouffay at the age of six. His teacher, a widow by the name of Mme Sambin, had lost her husband, a naval captain, who had disappeared some 30 years before. She often told the class that he would return one day like Robinson Crusoe. Two years later he went to a Catholic school, École Saint‑Stanislas, to suit his piously religious father's taste and where he excelled in recitation, geography, Greek, Latin, and singing. in 1842, he was made to attend a seminary, the Petit Séminaire de Saint-Donatien, which he wrote of disparagingly. From 1844 to 1846, Verne was enrolled at the Lycée Royal studying rhetoric and philosophy, taking the baccalauréat at Rennes and receiving the grade "Fairly good." By 1847 at age 19, Verne began to seriously write long works before being sent to law school in Paris. He diligently pursued his studies and graduated in 1851 despite his frequent visits to literary salons and writing prolifically.

In May of 1856, Verne traveled to a friend's wedding and met the bride's sister, Honorine de Viane Morel, a widow with two young children. He took a job with her brother working with a brokerage to earn a stable income and began courting her before marrying in January 1857.

A few years later his literary career finally took off, and with a newly steady income from his novels, Verne bought a small ship, the *Saint-Michel*, in 1867 and used it to sail around Europe. In 1870, Verne was awarded the title of Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur, the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, which he was given for his eminent merits throughout his career, having qualified for his flawless performance at his trade, being creative, zealous, and contributing to the growth and well-being of others. In 1888, Verne entered politics and was elected town councilor of Amiens, serving for fifteen years. In 1892, he was promoted from a Chevalier to an Officier.

## Literary Career

In June 1850 a stage comedy play, a joint production with Alexandre Dumas, opened at the Théâtre Historique. By 1851, Verne had met the editor-in-chief of the magazine *Musée des familles,* who wished to ensure that an educational component would be made accessible to large audiences with straightforward prose and engaging fictional stories. While writing for the magazine, Verne became inspired to write a new kind of novel, the *Roman de la Science*, or novel of science.

In 1862, Verne finally met the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel and submitted his first science adventure novel, *Five Weeks in a Balloon,* which was published in January the following year. Hetzel contracted Verne to publish in a long-planned family magazine which would combine entertaining fiction with scientific education. Verne's works were made to form the *Voyages extraordinaires* series, with the aim "to outline all the geographical, geological, physical, and astronomical knowledge amassed by modern science and to recount, in an entertaining and picturesque format that is his own, the history of the universe." Verne wrote at least two volumes worth of text every year.

Following the death of Hetzel and his mother and being shot by his mentally ill nephew and ravaged by diabetes, colitis, and a permanent limp, Verne's works became steadily darker. He died in his home in Amiens France March 24, 1905, and his son, Michel, oversaw the publication of the rest of his works after his death.

## Contribution to the Tessera

With his extensive research on submarine technology, underwater travel, and geography Jules Verne was eager to volunteer in the design of the submarine (in fact, he pushed for its use despite other members doubting its efficiency in lieu of other less costly and low-maintenance options) that takes Tessera members to Horsley Towers in level 4. His auteur's sense of suspense also required that torpedos be equipped to use against the sharks whose territory we traverse, arguing that a sea-battle would keep members engaged in the journey and from falling prey to listless boredom under the influence of S.