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We thought you would be interested in learning more about the life of the world famous writer, one of the founders of the genre of science fiction Jules Verne. The below information is based on the Short chronicles of Jules Verne's life (Jules Verne, Collected Works, Moscow, 1957).

Jules Verne was born on Feb 8, 1828 in Nantes, France in a hereditary lawyer's family. At 19 after graduating from lyceum he was sent by father to Paris in order to continue his law education. He had studied diligently there for 3 years and obtained a law diploma and a license. However, his love for literature, music and theater made him decline his father's requests to return to Nantes for starting law practice. Initially, Verne became known as a theater writer. In 1850 Verne's father reduced his allowance in order to make him come back to Nantes, but he continued to write. He also worked as a director of theater (1851-1854). In 1856, he borrowed 50,000 francs and became a partner in a broker firm. However, he was working hard to reach his main goal and had an exact age (35) in mind by which he should become successful in literature. Right by this age, at 1862, he finished his novel called Five Weeks on a Balloon, and after half year of unsuccessful looking for a publisher, he got to know Pierre Etzel, who published the novel that brought the first big success to both writer and publisher. After that, Etzel signed a contract with Verne by which the writer was to provide two new novels every year for 20,000 francs per year. Over the next years, the contract was changed 5 times to the writer's favor by the publisher's initiation (!) and was in force until Verne's death.

After his first novel, Verne wrote about 65 more - science fiction, adventure and satirical stories, such as Journey to the Center of The Earth (1864), From Earth to Moon (1865), Around The Moon (1869), The Journeys and Adventures of Captain Gatteras (1866), Captain Grant's Children (1867-68), 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1870), Around The World in 80 Days (1872), The Mysterious Island (1875), The 15-Year-Old Captain (1878), Robur The Conqueror (1886) and many others. Verne is also an author of some scientific, historic and geographic works.

At 38, Verne went to work to a fishermen's town Crotois where he purchased an old fisherman's boat and turned it into a sailboat of 8 ton displacement, on board of which he worked while traveling with three sailors along English Channel, and even reached Paris through Seine. In 1870, Verne became a co-editor of Journal of Teaching and Entertaining where many of his works were published, including 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1869). In 1871, after French-Prussian war and Commune of Paris Verne moved to Amiens where he had earlier sent his family from dangerous Paris. After having moved to Amiens, Verne established a daily schedule that he kept until his days were over - from 5am to noon working on his next novel, from 1pm to 5pm reading newspapers and magazines, from 6pm to 9pm meetings and reading new books.

During his lifetime Verne renewed his sailboat twice. In 1876 he bought a yacht of 38-ton displacement and in 1878 he bought another one of 100-ton displacement. The last one's crew consisted of 10 members. Verne traveled on it on Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea and Northern Sea.

In 1866 Verne authorized Marko Vovchok, a Russian writer, to translate and retell his novels in Russia, and he also authorized S. Zvonaryev to publish his works. Russian public loved Verne's works, especially the younger one. One of Verne's novels called Mikhail Strogov is a story about Siberia. The text was corrected by the Russian writer I.S.Turgenyev and also by the Russian ambassador in Paris, Earl Orlov. By some researches, Verne was the most popular foreign writer in Russia.

Verne's works, which were based on great scientific discoveries of the 19th century, had, in turn, some influence on many big scientists, innovators and travelers, who not only valued highly his novels, but also owed him their vocation and sometimes even some specific valuable scientific ideas.

By 1903 Verne, at his 75, was suffering from diabetes, had lost his hearing and almost lost his vision, but still kept working. He had created almost 100 volumes totally. He died in Amiens in 1905 when he was 77. A huge crowd gathered at his funeral.