|
Jules
Verne was born and raised in the French port-city of Nantes, where
his father was a successful lawyer. Jules trained for the same profession
in Paris and was able to complete his studies and obtain his license while
simultaneously beginning a literary career. His first work of science fiction
appeared in 1851.
Growing up in a port city was an experience that exposed young Jules to
the romance of the sea-faring life; at one point he even ran away to sign on
as a cabin boy on a French merchant vessel. The romantic notion of voyages
of exploration and strange destinations that was born on the wharves of
Nantes form a basis for many of Jules Verne's novels.
Verne was a prolific writer who completed at least 65 novels, thirty plays
and numerous essays and short stories before his death in March of 1905.
Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863)
Three men set out in a balloon to map the dark continent.
Five Weeks in a Balloon
by Jules Verne |
Size: 296 KB |
|
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)
A geologist, accompanied by his daughter and an assistant, descends into
the center of the Earth through a volcanic crater in Iceland.
(Video available.)
Journey to the Center of the Earth
by Jules Verne |
Size: 248 KB |
|
In Search of the Castaways (1868)
An adventure tale that tracks a party of adventurers through the wilds of
South America, Australia, New Zealand, and introduces characters that will
re-appear in The Mysterious Island.
In Search of the Castaways
by Jules Verne |
Size: 500 KB |
|
20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea (1870)
Captain Nemo sails beneath the seas of the globe to disarm the navies of
the world and achieve world peace.
The title refers to the distance traveled by the submarine Nautilus,
measured in French leagues. A French league of the 19th century was equivalent
to 2.16 English miles, so that an alternative title might be
[A Voyage] Beneath the Sea [of] 43,200 Miles. At one point in the
novel (e.g. Part 2, Chapter 1), the cruising speed of the Nautilus
is revealed to be 250 leagues per day which is equivalent to 22.5 miles per
hour. At that speed, the time required to cover the distance of 43,200 miles
would be 1,920 hours, or exactly 80 days!
20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea
by Jules Verne |
Size: 326 KB |
|
From the Earth to the Moon (1870)
American investors put together a scheme to fire three men out of a canon,
orbit the moon and return to the Earth. (Contains the text of both
From the Earth to the Moon and Round the Moon.)
From the Earth to the Moon
by Jules Verne |
Size: 298 KB |
|
Around the World in Eighty Days (1873)
An Englishman and his personal servant race the calendar to circumnavigate
the planet in 80 days with a police detective in pursuit, in order to win
a bet.
Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne |
Size: 206 KB |
|
The Mysterious Island (1874)
A party of shipwreck victims builds a communal home on a volcanic
deserted island. This edition employs the same division into three parts
that was used by Jean-Jules in the first edition.
(Video available.)
The Mysterious Island, Part I
by Jules Verne |
Size: 206 KB |
|
The Mysterious Island, Part II
by Jules Verne |
Size: 200 KB |
|
The Mysterious Island, Part III
by Jules Verne |
Size: 194 KB |
|
The Survivors of the Chancellor (1875)
The cargo of a sailing ship catches fire during an Atlantic crossing.
The Survivors of the Chancellor
by Jules Verne |
Size: 168 KB |
|
The Underground City (1877)
Miners build and occupy a city inside of an abandoned coal mine. (This opus
also known as The Black Indies and The Child of the Cavern.)
The Underground City
by Jules Verne |
Size: 138 KB |
|
Off on a Comet (1877)
When a comet passes near the Earth, sections of the Earth's surface are
torn away from the planet but come safely to rest on the surface of the
comet; providing the transported Earthlings with a vehicle to tour the
Solar system. (This novel is also known as Hector Servadec.)
Off on a Comet
by Jules Verne |
Size: 332 KB |
|
These ebooks are formatted for the
eReader.
You can get a free copy of the eReader
here.
The eReader was formerly known as the
PalmReader.
| 
