Full Name: Mr. Jules Gabriel Verne
Date of Birth: February 8, 1828
Place of Birth: Nantes, France
Died: March 24, 1905
Place of Death: Amiens, France
Classification: Artists & Entertainer
Known as a prolific writer having more than seventy books to his name, Jules Verne was the author of classis such as Journey to the Center of the Earth and Around the World in Eighty Days. Discovered by the renowned publisher Hetzel, who published Victor Hugo, Verne would become on of the wealthiest and well-known writers of his day.
Young Jules spent much of his childhood in Nantes, France. His father was an attorney and worked a lot, supporting his family financially, but not paying much attention to his son’s creative endeavors. When Jules Verne went to Paris, France to study to become a lawyer, he used his time writing and meeting new and well-established artists of the day. He even had some of his work published with Musee des Familles, where he wrote stories about adventure with the most extravagant of inventions.
Upon discovering that his son was using his time writing, instead of studying, Verne’s father stopped supporting him, so Jules had to make it on his own. He soon fell for Honorine Morel, a widow who would become his wife, and they had a son together. Verne continued to work on his writing while making decent returns as a stock analyst and broker, even though he detested the work.
Jules Verne’s life changed when he met one of the most prominent publishers in France at the time, Pierre-Jules Hetzel. The publisher decided to take a chance by giving this newfound author with fantastic stories a chance. With Hetzel’s guidance and oftentimes, complete makeovers on Verne’s work, Five Weeks in a Balloon, about a voyage over Africa, sold better than anyone could have anticipated.
From his first book onward, Verne and Hetzel would release two and sometimes three books per year. Following the success of his first book, Hetzel decided to serialize Verne’s writings in his magazine, thereby leaving the reading public salivating in anticipation about what would happen next to the protagonist. His fame became more widespread and Jules Verne became wealthy. He even bought a boat and sailed around Europe, which inspired him to write more about the exotic places he would frequent. Jules Verne’s works are still read as a part of the major literary canon of the latter 20 th and early 21 st centuries. In fact, his work is so popular that Jackie Chan starred in the major motion picture of Around the World in 80 Days in 2004.
