Jul 23, 2004 12:18 PM
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(Updated Jul 23, 2004 12:18 PM)
Jules Verne is one of the most celebrated French writers worldwide. His series of voyage extraordinaires features amazing characters the likes of Phileas Fogg and the immortal Captain Nemo, either exploring the depth of the ocean or the earth.
It is only now that his literary skills are being recognised. The same skills that were refused upon him during his lifetime.
Talking about his history, Verne was a very weak person and in his early twenties he started to suffer from intestinal problem accompanied by a partial paralysis on the left side of his face.
He had always been attracted to travelling which his parents never understood. He completed Law in Paris against the wishes of his parents. No his parents were not against his studying law, rather they were against his travelling to Paris.
He was not interested in Law however and later after an unsuccessful stint as an advisor in the stock market he became an administrator in a theatre. His main hope being to get few of his plays on stage. He married Honorine, a young widow with two daughters.
His son Michael was a spoilt child who used his father's money for his entertainment but later on mended his ways and paid back his father.
Interestingly after Jules Verne's death Michael corrected, finished and published his fathers unpublished draft and became a Jules Verne in the shadows for a few years.
Michael preferred to use his father's name because he needed money to maintain his lifestyle and also knew his father's name would sell more than his.
20000 Leagues Under the Sea was a brilliant book written by Jules Verne which features the unforgettable and eternal Captain Nemoand his futuristic submarine Nautilus.
The underwater description and the journeys have been described so vividly it takes the breath away. In fact reading about the submarine would actually make the reader think how Verne could have thought so much in advance to describe the ship. He visualised the submarine then as it would be now.
Captain Nemo has been described as such a mysterious person with no nationality or history he becomes an enigma. His hatred to life above the water will again remain a mystery.
This is an amazing book and for me one of Verne's Le meilleur travail (best work)
