All of Jules's novels are true. Jules Verne - biography, information, personal life

2005 was a date celebrated by the literary and reading community not only in France, but also in many other countries. This year marked 100 years since the death of the great French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, who is considered their idol by millions of readers in the most different countries.
Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828 in the city of Nantes, on one of the many islands in the Loire channel. Nantes is located several tens of kilometers from the mouth of the Loire, but it has a large port visited by many merchant sailing ships.

Pierre Verne, Verne's father, was a lawyer. In 1827, he married Sophie Allot de la Fuy, the daughter of nearby shipowners. Jules Verne's ancestors on his mother's side date back to a Scottish rifleman who entered the service of Louis XI's guard in 1462 and received the title of nobility for services rendered to the king. On the paternal side, the Vernes are descendants of the Celts who lived in ancient times in France. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Vernes moved to Paris.

Families at that time often had large families, and together with the first-born Jules, brother Paul and three sisters, Anna, Matilda and Marie, grew up in the Vernes' house.

Since the age of 6, Jules has been taking lessons from her neighbor, the widow of a sea captain. At the age of 8, he first entered the Seminary of Saint-Stanislas, then the Lyceum, where he received a classical education, which included knowledge of Greek and Latin languages, rhetoric, singing and geography. This is not his favorite subject, although he dreams of distant countries and sailing ships.

Jules tried to realize his dreams in 1839, when, secretly from his parents, he got a job as a cabin boy on the three-masted schooner Coralie, which was leaving for India. Fortunately, Jules’ father managed to catch a local “pyroscaf” (steamboat), on which he managed to catch up with the schooner in the town of Pembef, located at the mouth of the Loire, and remove the would-be cabin boy from it. Having promised his father that he would never repeat anything like this again, Jules inadvertently added that from now on he would travel only in his dreams.

One day, Jules’s parents allowed Jules and his brother to ride on a pyroscope down the Loire to the place where it flows into the bay, where the brothers saw the sea for the first time.

“In a few leaps we descended from the ship and slid down the rocks covered with a layer of algae to scoop up sea water and bring it to our mouths...

“But it’s not salty at all,” I muttered, turning pale.

“Not salty at all,” the brother answered.

- We were deceived! – I exclaimed, and there was terrible disappointment in my voice.

What fools we were! At this time the tide was low, and from a small depression in the rock we scooped up Loire water! When the tide came in, the water seemed even saltier than we expected!”

(Jules Verne. Memoirs of childhood and youth)

Having received his bachelor's degree in 1846, Jules, who agreed - under great pressure from his father - to inherit his profession, began to study law in Nantes. In April 1847, he went to Paris, where he had to take exams for the first year of study.

He leaves his home without regret and with broken hearted- His love was rejected by his cousin Caroline Tronson. Despite numerous sonnets dedicated to his beloved and even a small tragedy in verse for the puppet theater, Jules did not seem to her a suitable party.

Having passed the exams at the Faculty of Law for 1847, Jules returned to Nantes. He is irresistibly attracted to the theater, and he writes two plays (“Alexander VI” and “The Gunpowder Plot”), read in a narrow circle of acquaintances. Jules understands well that the theater is, first of all, Paris. WITH with great difficulty he seeks permission from his father to continue his studies in the capital, where he goes in November 1848.

Jules settles down in Paris on the Rue Ancienne-Comédie with his Nantes friend Edouard Bonamy. In 1949, he received a law licentiate degree and could work as a lawyer, but was in no hurry to get a job in a law office and, moreover, was not eager to return to Nantes.

He enthusiastically attends literary and political salons, where he meets many famous writers, including famous Alexander Dumas the father. He is intensively engaged in literature, writes tragedies, vaudeville and comic operas. In 1948, 4 plays appeared from his pen, the next year - 3 more, but all of them did not reach the stage. Only in 1850 was his next play, Broken Straws, able to see (with the help of the elder Dumas) the stage lights. In total, 12 performances of the play took place, bringing Jules a profit of 15 francs.

This is how he talks about this event: “My first work was a short comedy in verse, written with the participation of Alexandre Dumas the son, who was and remained one of my best friends until his death. It was called “Broken Straws” and was staged on the stage of the Historical Theater, owned by Dumas the Father. The play had some success, and on the advice of Dumas Sr. I sent it to print. “Don't worry,” he encouraged me. - I give you a full guarantee that there will be at least one buyer. That buyer will be me!” [...] It soon became clear to me that dramatic works would not give me either fame or a means of livelihood. In those years I lived in an attic and was very poor.”

(From an interview with Jules Verne)

How limited the means of subsistence that Verne and Bonamy had at their disposal can be imagined from the fact that they had only one evening dress, and therefore they took turns going out to social events. When one day Jules could not resist and bought a collection of plays by Shakespeare, his favorite writer, then he was forced to fast for three days, since he had no money left for food.

As his grandson Jean Jules-Verne writes in his book about Jules Verne, during these years Jules had to seriously worry about earnings, since he could not count on his father’s income, which was quite modest for those times. He gets a job in a notary's office, but this job does not leave him time to write, and he soon leaves it. For a short time, he gets a job as a bank clerk, and in his free time he tutors law students.

Soon the Lyric Theater opens in Paris, and Jules becomes its secretary. His service in the theater allowed him to earn extra money for the then popular magazine Musée des Families, which published his story “The First Ships of the Mexican Fleet” (later called “Drama in Mexico”) in 1851.

The next publication on a historical topic took place in the same year in the same magazine, where the story “Travel in a Balloon” appeared, better known as “Drama in the Air,” under which it was published in 1872 in the collection “Doctor Ox.”

Jules Verne continues to build on the success of his first historical and geographical works. In 1852, he published the story "Martin Paz", which takes place in Peru. Then, in the Musée des Families, the fantastic short story “Master Zacharius” (1854) and the long story “Wintering in the Ice” (1855) appear, which, not without reason, can be considered the prototype of the novel “The Travels and Adventures of Captain Hatteras.” Thus, the range of topics preferred by Jules Verne is gradually becoming more precise: travel and adventure, history, exact sciences Finally, fantastic. And yet, young Jules continues to stubbornly waste his time and energy on writing mediocre plays... Throughout the 50s, librettos of comic operas and operettas, dramas, comedies came out from his pen one after another... From time to time, some of the They appear on the stage of the Lyric Theater (“Blind Man’s Bluff”, “Marjolena’s Companions”), but it is impossible to exist on these odd jobs.

In 1856, Jules Verne was invited to his friend's wedding in Amiens, where he met the bride's sister. This is the beautiful twenty-six-year-old widow Honorine Morel, née de Vian. She recently lost her husband and has two daughters, but this does not stop Jules from becoming infatuated with the young widow. In a letter home, he speaks of his intention to marry, but since the starving writer cannot give future family sufficient guarantees of a comfortable life, he discusses with his father the possibility of becoming a stockbroker with the help of his fiancee's brother. But... to become a shareholder of the company, you need to deposit a round sum of 50,000 francs. After a short resistance, the father agrees to help, and in January 1857, Jules and Honorine tie their destinies in marriage.

Vern works a lot, but he has time not only for his favorite plays, but also for traveling abroad. In 1859, he made a trip to Scotland with Aristide Ignard (the author of the music for most of Verne’s operettas), and two years later he went with the same companion on a trip to Scandinavia, during which he visited Denmark, Sweden and Norway. During these same years theatrical stage saw several new ones dramatic works Verna - in 1860, the Lyric Theater and the Buff Theater staged the comic operas "Hotel in the Ardennes" and "Mr. Chimpanzee", and the following year the Vaudeville Theater successfully staged the comedy in three acts "Eleven Days of Siege".

In 1860, Verne met one of the most unusual people that time. This is Nadar (as Gaspard-Felix Tournachon briefly called himself), the famous aeronaut, photographer, artist and writer. Verne was always interested in aeronautics - just remember his “Drama in the Air” and an essay on the work of Edgar Allan Poe, in which Verne devotes a lot of space to the “aeronautical” short stories of the great writer he revered. Obviously, this influenced the choice of theme for his first novel, which was completed by the end of 1862.

Probably the first reader of the novel “Five Weeks in a Balloon” was Alexandre Dumas, who introduced Verne to the then famous writer Brichet, who, in turn, introduced Verne to one of the largest Parisian publishers, Pierre-Jules Hetzel. Etzel, who was about to found a magazine for teenagers (later widely known as the Magazine of Education and Entertainment), immediately realized that Verne's knowledge and abilities were much in line with his plans. After minor revisions, Etzel accepted the novel, publishing it in his journal on January 17, 1863 (according to some sources - December 24, 1862). In addition, Etzel offered Verne permanent cooperation, signing a 20-year agreement with him, according to which the writer undertook to transfer to Etzel the manuscripts of three books annually, receiving 1900 francs for each volume. Now Vern could breathe easy. From now on, he had, although not too large, a stable income, and he had the opportunity to engage in literary work without thinking about how he would feed his family tomorrow.

The novel “Five Weeks in a Balloon” appeared extremely timely. First of all, the general public these days was captivated by the adventures of John Speke and other travelers who were looking for the sources of the Nile in the unexplored jungles of Africa. In addition, these years saw the rapid development of aeronautics; suffice it to say that, in parallel with the successive issues of Verne’s novel appearing in Etzel’s magazine, the reader could follow the flights of Nadar’s giant (it was called “Giant”) balloon. Therefore, it is not surprising that Verne’s novel won in France incredible success. It was soon translated into many European languages ​​and brought the author international fame. So, already in 1864 it was published Russian edition entitled "Air Travel Across Africa".

Subsequently, Etzel, who soon became a close friend of Jules Verne (their friendship continued until the publisher’s death), always showed exceptional nobility in financial relations with the writer. Already in 1865, after the publication of Jules Verne's first five novels, his fee was increased to 3,000 francs per book. Despite the fact that, under the terms of the agreement, the publisher could freely dispose of the illustrated editions of Verne’s books, Etzel paid the writer compensation in the amount of five and a half thousand francs for the 5 books published by that time. In September 1871, a new agreement was signed, according to which Verne agreed to transfer to the publisher not three, but only two books annually; the writer's fee was now 6,000 francs per volume.

Here we will not only not dwell on the content of everything that was written by Jules Verne over the next 40 extra years, but we won’t even list the names of his numerous – about 70 – novels. Instead of the bibliographic information that can be found in the books and articles of E. Brandis, K. Andreev and G. Gurevich dedicated to Jules Verne, as well as in the biography translated into Russian written by the writer’s grandson Jean Jules-Verne, we will dwell in more detail on the originality creative method writer and his views on science and society.

There is a very widespread opinion, a kind of myth, that Jules Verne expressed in his works “man’s shock at the power of technology, hopes for its omnipotence,” as his biographers usually noted. Sometimes, however, they were reluctant to admit that towards the end of his life the writer began to look more pessimistically at the ability of science and technology to make humanity happy. Jules Verne's pessimism last years his life was explained by his poor health (diabetes, loss of vision, a wounded leg that caused constant suffering). Often, as evidence of the writer’s gloomy view of the future of humanity, his big story entitled “Eternal Adam”, written at the end of the 19th century, but first published after the death of the writer in the collection “Yesterday and Tomorrow”, published in 1910.

An archaeologist from the distant future discovers traces of a vanished highly developed civilization, destroyed thousands of years ago by the ocean that flooded all the continents. Only on the land that rose from the Atlantic after the disaster did seven people survive, who laid the foundation new civilization, which has not yet reached the level of the previous one. Continuing the excavations, the archaeologist discovers traces of an even more ancient lost culture, apparently created once by the Atlanteans, and is bitterly aware of the eternal cycle of events.

The writer’s grandson Jean Jules-Verne defines the main idea of ​​the story this way: “...Man’s efforts are in vain: they are hampered by his fragility; everything is transitory in this mortal world. Progress, like the universe, seems limitless to him, while a barely noticeable tremor of the thin earth’s crust is enough to make all the achievements of our civilization in vain.”

(Jean Jules Verne. Jules Verne)

Jules Verne went even further in his novel “The Amazing Adventures of the Barsak Expedition”, published posthumously in 1914, in which he shows how a person uses scientific and technical advances with a criminal purpose, and how he can, with the help of science, destroy what it has created.

Speaking about Jules Verne's views on the society of the future, one cannot help but say a few words about another of his novels, written in 1863, but discovered only at the end of the twentieth century and published in 1994. At one time, Etzel actively did not like the novel “Paris in the 20th Century”, and after lengthy discussions and debates it was abandoned by Jules Verne and thoroughly forgotten. The significance of young Verne’s novel lies not in the visionary, sometimes surprisingly accurately guessed technical details and scientific discoveries; the main thing in it is the image of the future society. Jules Verne skillfully identifies the features of contemporary capitalism and extrapolates them, bringing them to the point of absurdity. He foresees the nationalization and bureaucratization of all layers of society, the emergence of strict control not only over the behavior, but also over the thoughts of citizens, thus predicting the emergence of a state of police dictatorship. “Paris in the 20th Century” is a warning novel, a real dystopia, one of the first, if not the first, among the famous dystopias of Zamyatin, Platonov, Huxley, Orwell, Efremov and others.

Another myth about the writer’s life says that he was an inveterate homebody, and very rarely and reluctantly made small trips. In fact, Jules Verne was a tireless traveler. We have already mentioned above several of his travels in 1859 and 1861 to Scotland and Scandinavia; Another an amusing trip he committed in 1867, having visited North America, where he visited Niagara Falls.

On his yacht “Saint-Michel III” (Verne had three yachts under this name - from a small boat, a simple fishing longboat, to a real two-masted yacht 28 meters long, equipped with a powerful steam engine), he circumnavigated the Mediterranean Sea twice, visited Portugal, Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Holland, Scandinavia.

The observations and impressions gained during these travels were constantly used by the writer in his novels. Thus, the impressions of a trip to Scotland are clearly visible in the novel “Black India,” which tells about the life of Scottish miners; travel around Mediterranean Sea served as the basis for vivid descriptions of events taking place in North Africa. As for the voyage to America on the Great Eastern, an entire novel called “The Floating City” is dedicated to it.

Jules Verne really did not like being called a predictor of the future. The science fiction writer explained that the descriptions of scientific discoveries and inventions contained in the novels of Jules Verne are gradually coming true: “These are simple coincidences, and they are explained very simply. When I talk about some scientific phenomenon, I first examine all the sources available to me and draw conclusions based on many facts. As for the accuracy of the descriptions, in this regard I am indebted to all kinds of extracts from books, newspapers, magazines, various abstracts and reports, which I have prepared for future use and are gradually replenished. All these notes are carefully classified and serve as material for my stories and novels. Not a single book of mine was written without the help of this card index. I carefully look through more than twenty newspapers, diligently read all the scientific reports available to me, and, believe me, I am always overcome with a feeling of delight when I learn about some new discovery...”

(From an interview with Jules Verne)

Throughout his life, the writer was distinguished by an enviable work ethic, perhaps no less fantastic than the exploits of his heroes. In one of the articles about Jules Verne, an excellent expert on his life and work, E. Brandis, gives the writer’s story about his methods of working on manuscripts: “... I can reveal the secrets of my literary cuisine, although I would not dare recommend them to anyone else. After all, every writer works in his own way. own method, choosing it more instinctively than consciously. This is, if you like, a question of technology. Over many years, habits are developed that are impossible to break. I usually start by selecting from the card index all the extracts related to a given topic; I sort them, study them and process them in relation to the future novel. Then I do preliminary sketches and outline chapters. After that, I write a draft in pencil, leaving wide margins—half a page—for corrections and additions. But this is not a novel yet, but only the frame of a novel. In this form, the manuscript arrives at the printing house. In the first proof, I correct almost every sentence and often rewrite entire chapters. The final text is obtained after the fifth, seventh or, sometimes, ninth proofreading. Most clearly I see the shortcomings of my work not in the manuscript, but in the printed copies. Fortunately, my publisher understands this well and does not impose any restrictions on me...

Thanks to the habit of working at my desk every day from five in the morning until noon, I have been able to write two books a year for many years in a row. True, such a lifestyle required some sacrifices. So that nothing would distract me from my work, I moved from noisy Paris to calm, quiet Amiens and have been living here for many years - since 1871. You may ask why I chose Amiens? This city is especially dear to me because my wife was born here and here we once met. And I am no less proud of the title of municipal councilor of Amiens than of my literary fame.”

(E. Brandis. Interview with Jules Verne)

By the end of the nineteenth century, the writer was becoming more and more overwhelmed by the accumulated long life ailments. He has hearing problems, severe diabetes, which has affected his vision - Jules Verne sees almost nothing. The bullet remaining in his leg after a ridiculous attempt on his life (he was shot by a mentally ill nephew who came asking to borrow money) barely allows the writer to move.

“The writer withdraws more and more into himself, his life is strictly regulated: getting up at dawn, and sometimes earlier, he immediately gets to work; At about eleven o'clock he goes out, moving extremely carefully, because not only is his legs bad, but his eyesight has also deteriorated greatly. After a modest dinner, Jules Verne smokes a small cigar, sitting in a chair with his back to the light, so as not to irritate his eyes, on which the shadow of the visor of his cap falls, and silently reflects; then, limping, he goes to reading room Industrial society..."

(Jean Jules Verne. Jules Verne)

In 1903, in one of his letters to his sister, Jules Verne complained: “I see worse and worse, my dear sister. I haven't had cataract surgery yet... In addition, I am deaf in one ear. So, I am now able to hear only half of the nonsense and malice that go around the world, and this consoles me a lot!

Jules Verne died at 8 a.m. on March 24, 1905, during a diabetic crisis. He is buried near his home in Amiens. A few years after his death, a monument was erected at his grave, depicting a science fiction writer with a hand stretched out to the stars.

Until 1914, books written by Jules Verne continued to be published (more or less substantially revised by his son Michel), successive volumes of Extraordinary Journeys. These are the novels “The Invasion of the Sea”, “The Lighthouse at the End of the World”, “The Golden Volcano”, “The Thompson & Co. Agency”, “The Hunt for the Meteor”, “The Danube Pilot”, “The Shipwreck of Jonathan”, “The Mystery of Wilhelm Storitz”, “ The Amazing Adventures of the Barsak Expedition”, as well as a collection of short stories called “Yesterday and Tomorrow”.

In total, in the series “ Extraordinary travels» included 64 books - 62 novels and 2 collections of stories.

If we talk about the rest of the literary legacy of Jules Verne, then it includes 6 more novels that are not included in “Extraordinary Journeys”, more than three dozen essays, articles, notes and stories not included in the collections, almost 40 plays, major popular science works “Illustrated Geography of France and its Colonies”, “Scientific and Economic Conquest of the Earth” and “History of Great Voyages and Great Travelers” in three volumes (“Discovery of the Earth”, “Great Travelers of the 18th Century” and “Travelers of the 19th Century”). The writer's poetic heritage is also great, numbering about 140 poems and romances.

For many years now, Jules Verne has been one of the most frequently published writers in the world. In the preface to the biography of Jules Verne, written by his grandson Jean Jules-Verne, Eugene Brandis reports: “Over the years Soviet power 374 books by J. Verne were published in the USSR with a total circulation of 20 million 507 thousand copies” (data from the All-Union Book Chamber for 1977). In terms of the number of translations into the languages ​​of the world, Jules Verne's books in the late 60s and early 70s were in third place, second only to the works of Lenin and Shakespeare (UNESCO Bibliographic Reference).

Let us add that very full meeting Verne's works in 88 volumes began to be published in Russia by Soikin's publishing house, starting in 1906, that is, immediately after the death of the writer.

In the 90s, several multi-volume collected works of Verne were published in Russian: in 6 (two editions), 8, 12, 20 and 50 volumes.

In many countries, societies of fans and lovers of Jules Verne have been created and are actively working. In 1978, a museum of the writer was opened in Nantes, and 2005, which marks the 100th anniversary of the writer’s death, was declared the year of Jules Verne in France.

Speaking about the amazing popularity of the great writer, one cannot fail to note the enduring significance of Jules Verne as one of the first science fiction writers in both French and world literature. The famous modern French science fiction writer Bernard Werber said: “Jules Verne is the pioneer of modern French science fiction.” Verne is rightly considered not only the creator of the “scientific” novel, but also one of its “founding fathers” along with the Englishman Herbert Wells and the American Edgar Allan Poe.

Shortly before the end, Verne wrote:

“My goal was to describe the Earth, and not only the Earth, but the entire Universe, because in my novels I sometimes took readers far from the Earth.”

It is impossible not to admit that the writer achieved his grandiose goal. The seven dozen novels written by Verne form a real multi-volume geographical encyclopedia containing a description of the nature of all the continents of the Earth. Verne also fulfilled his promise to take his reader far from the Earth, since out of almost two dozen of his novels, rightfully classified as science fiction, there are such as “From the Gun to the Moon” and “Around the Moon,” which make up the cosmic “lunar” duology, as well as another space novel, “Hector Servadac,” about a journey through the solar system on a fragment of land knocked out of the Earth by a colliding comet. A fantastic plot is also present in the novel “Upside Down”, in which we're talking about about an attempt to straighten the tilt of the earth's axis. It is not without reason that the geological epic “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, two novels about the conqueror of the air element Robur, the novel “The Mystery of Wilhelm Storitz” about the adventures of the invisible man and many others are classified as science fiction.

Nevertheless, specific feature The true thing about fiction is that it is usually not very fantastic; for example, the writer never said a word about the meeting of earthlings with aliens, did not touch upon the problem of time travel and many other science fiction topics that later became classic. In the middle of the twentieth century, Verne’s fiction would have been called short-range fiction, which in the USSR included the works of Okhotnikov, Nemtsov, Adamov and many other representatives of the officially recognized Soviet state fiction. Even when putting forward a fantastic hypothesis, Verne tries to scientifically substantiate it, often with the help of mathematical calculations, or gives an explanation that does not contradict the basic laws of science. Thus, if Edgar Allan Poe ends his “Tale of the Adventures of Arthur Gordon Pym” with a mystical vision of a giant human figure in a shroud that embodies mortal horror, then in the faithful continuation written by Verne, the novel “The Ice Sphinx”, death for sailors carrying iron objects is carried by a rock made of magnetic iron ore.

But it should be noted that much of the blame for such “mundaneity” of Verne’s fiction can be laid on Etzel, who always considered Verne’s main task to write not so much science fiction as popular science books, in which the adventure shell was skillfully combined with geographical or historical filling, to which Verne sometimes added elements of fantasy. According to Etzel, Verne's books were intended primarily to educate and entertain the reader. school age. Fortunately, Jules Verne's magical talent allowed him to avoid creating boring and uninteresting popular science lectures on natural sciences or historical topics. A skillfully constructed, captivating adventure plot captivated the reader, imperceptibly drawing him into a world in which science and fantasy, adventure and literature, mystery and mathematical calculation were skillfully combined... Without this, it is unlikely that both children and adults would have read the writer’s books a hundred years after his of death...

This is how the French critic Jacques Chenault explains the secret of the immortality of Jules Verne’s books, their growing popularity even today, when most of the writer’s technical predictions turned out to be realized, and in many ways surpassed: “If Jules Verne and his extraordinary travels do not die, it is only because they – and with them the so attractive 19th century – posed problems that the 20th century could not and will not be able to escape from.”

I. Naidenkov

Quotes from Jules Verne's novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", 1869 - 1870

Translation from French: N. Yakovleva, E. Korsh

Who would have thought that not even a hundred years would have passed before submarine ships created to destroy “their own kind” would become science fiction, but that words about a peaceful sea and the absence of the threat of destruction of its inhabitants would become fantastic.

The human mind tends to create majestic images of giants. - (Professor Aronnax)

The sea is not subject to despots. On the surface of the seas they can still commit lawlessness, wage wars, and kill their own kind. But at a depth of thirty feet under water they are powerless, here their power ends! - (captain Nemo)

Nature does not create anything without a purpose. - (Ned Land)

There is nothing surprising in the fact that nature works miracles, but to see with your own eyes something wonderful, supernatural and, moreover, created by human genius - there is something to think about! - (Professor Aronnax)

All countries of the world will understand what a person needs when he opens his mouth, clicks his teeth, and slurps! On this score, the language is the same both in Quebec and in Paumotu, both in Paris and among the Antipodes: “I’m hungry! Give me something to eat!” - (Ned Land)

The sea is everything! His breath is pure and life-giving. In its vast desert, a person does not feel lonely, because around him he feels the beat of life. - (captain Nemo)

Genius has no age. - (captain Nemo)

How are fish classified? Edible and inedible! - (Ned Land)

Look at the ocean, isn't it Living being? Sometimes angry, sometimes tender! At night he slept like us, and now he wakes up in a good mood after a restful sleep! - (captain Nemo)

The world needs new people, not new continents! - (captain Nemo)

For the imagination of storytellers to play, some reason or pretext is needed. - (Professor Aronnax)

Jules Verne, whose biography interests children and adults, is a French writer considered a classic of literature. His works contributed to the development of science fiction and also became an incentive for practical space exploration. What kind of life did Jules Verne live? His biography is marked by many achievements and difficulties.

Origin of the writer

The years of our hero's life are 1828-1905. He was born on the banks of the Loire, in the city of Nantes, located near its mouth. The picture presented below is an image of this city, dating back to approximately the time of the life of the writer we are interested in.

1828 Jules Verne was born. His biography would be incomplete if we did not talk about his parents. Jules was born into the family of lawyer Pierre Verne. This man had his own office and wanted his eldest son to follow in his footsteps, which is understandable. The mother of the future writer, nee Allott de la Fuye, was from an ancient family of Nantes shipbuilders and shipowners.

Childhood

From an early age she was marked by the studies of such a writer as Jules Verne, a short biography. There were few organized learning options for children as young as 6 years old. That's why Jules Verne went to his neighbor for lessons. She was the widow of a sea captain. When the boy was 8 years old, he entered the Saint-Stanislaus seminary. After this, Jules Verne continued his studies at the Lyceum, where he received a classical education. He learned Latin and Greek, geography, rhetoric, and learned to sing.

About how Jules Verne studied jurisprudence (short biography)

4th grade of school is the time when we first become acquainted with the work of this writer. His novel “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain” is recommended for this time. However, if they study the biography of Jules Verne in school, it is very superficial. Therefore, we decided to talk about it in detail, in particular, how future writer studied jurisprudence.

Jules Verne received his bachelor's degree in 1846. The biography of his young years is marked by the fact that he had to constantly resist his father’s attempts to make him a lawyer. Under his strong pressure, Jules Verne was forced to study law in his hometown. In April 1847, our hero decided to go to Paris. Here he passed the necessary exams for the 1st year of study, after which he returned to Nantes.

First plays, continued training

Jules Verne was very attracted to the theater, for which he wrote 2 plays - “The Gunpowder Plot” and “Alexander VI”. They were introduced to a narrow circle of acquaintances. Verne was well aware that theater is, first and foremost, Paris. He manages, although not without difficulty, to obtain permission from his father to go to the capital to continue his studies. This joyful event for Verne took place in November 1848.

Hard times for Jules Verne

However, the main difficulties lay ahead for a writer like Jules Verne. His short biography is marked by great tenacity shown when confronted with them. The father allowed his son to continue his education only in the field of law. After graduating from the School of Law in Paris and receiving a diploma, Jules Verne did not return to his father's law office. Much more tempting for him was the prospect of activity in the field of theater and literature. He decided to stay in Paris and with great enthusiasm began to master his chosen path. Persistence even led to a half-starved existence, which he had to lead because his father refused to help him. Jules Verne began to create vaudevilles, comedies, librettos of various classical operas, dramas, although they could not be sold.

At this time he lived with a friend in the attic. Both of them were very poor. The writer was forced to do odd jobs for several years. His service in a notary office did not work out, since it left very little time for literary works. Jules Verne also did not last as a clerk at the bank. His brief biography during this difficult time is marked by tutoring, which provided at least some means. Jules Verne taught law students.

Visiting the library

Our hero is addicted to visiting National Library. Here he listened to scientific debates and lectures. He made acquaintance with travelers and scientists. Jules Verne became acquainted with geography, navigation, astronomy, scientific discoveries. He copied information from books that interested him, at first not quite imagining why he might need it.

Work in the lyric theater, new works

After some time, namely in 1851, our hero got a job at the Lyric Theater, which had just opened. Jules Verne began working there as a secretary. Biography, creativity and Interesting Facts about it in subsequent years should be presented in detail.

Jules Verne began writing for a magazine called the Musée des Families. In the same year, 1851, this magazine Jules Verne's first stories were published. These are "The First Ships of the Mexican Navy", later renamed "Drama in Mexico"; as well as “Balloon Journey” (another name for this work is “Drama in the Air”).

Meeting A. Dumas and V. Hugo, marriage

Jules Verne, while still an aspiring author, met someone who began to patronize him; and also with Victor Hugo. It is possible that it was Dumas who suggested that his friend focus on the topic of travel. Verne had a desire to describe the whole world - plants, animals, nature, customs and peoples. He decided to combine art and science, and also to populate his novels with hitherto unprecedented characters.

Verne in January 1857 married a widow named Honorine de Vian ( maiden name Morel). At the time of marriage, the girl was 26 years old.

First novel

After some time, Jules Verne decided to break with the theater. He completed his first novel, entitled “Five Weeks in a Balloon,” in 1862. Dumas advised him to contact Etzel, the publisher of the “Journal of Education and Entertainment,” intended for the younger generation, with this work. His novel is about those made from a hot air balloon geographical discoveries was evaluated and published early next year. Etzel entered into a long-term contract with a successful debutant - Jules Verne was supposed to create 2 volumes a year.

Novels of Jules Verne

As if making up for lost time, the writer begins to create many works, each of which is a real masterpiece. In 1864, “Journey to the Center of the Earth” appeared, a year later - “From the Earth to the Moon” and “The Voyage of Captain Hatteras”, and in 1870 - “Around the Moon”. In these works, Jules Verne involved 4 main problems that occupied him at that time scientific world: conquest of the pole, controlled aeronautics, flights beyond the gravity of the earth and mysteries of the underworld.

"Captain Grant's Children" is Verne's fifth novel, which appeared in 1868. After its publication, the writer decided to combine all the previously written and planned books into one series, which he called “Extraordinary Journeys.” And the author decided to make a trilogy of Verne’s novel “The Children of Captain Grant”. They included, besides him, the following works: 1870's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and 1875's "The Mysterious Island." The pathos of the heroes unites this trilogy. They are not just travelers, but also fighters against various types injustice, colonialism, racism, slave trade. The appearance of all these works brought him worldwide fame. Many people became interested in the biography of Jules Verne. After some time, his books began to appear in Russian, German and many other languages.

Life in Amiens

Jules Verne left Paris in 1872 and never returned there. He moved to Amiens, a small provincial town. From now on, the entire biography of Jules Verne boils down to the word “work.”

Written in 1872, this author's novel Around the World in Eighty Days was an extraordinary success. In 1878, he published the book “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain,” in which he protested against racial discrimination. This work has gained great popularity on all continents. In his next novel, which tells about civil war in America in the 60s, he continued this theme. The book is called "North vs. South". It was published in 1887.

In total, Jules Verne created 66 novels, including unfinished ones published at the end of the 20th century. In addition, he has written more than 20 stories and novellas, more than 30 plays, as well as several scientific and documentary works.

last years of life

Jules Verne was shot in the ankle by Gaston Verne, his nephew, on March 9, 1886. He shot him with a revolver. It is known that Gaston Verne was mentally ill. After this incident, the writer had to forget about traveling forever.

In 1892, our hero received a well-deserved award - the Order of the Legion of Honor. Jules went blind shortly before his death, but continued to create works, dictating them. On March 24, 1905, Jules Verne died of diabetes. The biography for children and adults presented in this article, we hope, has aroused your interest in his work.

Jules Verne - writer and geographer, a recognized classic of adventure literature, founder of the scientific fantasy genre. Lived and worked in the 19th century. According to UNESCO statistics, Verne's works rank second in the world in terms of the number of translations. We will consider the life and work of this amazing person.

Jules Verne: biography. Childhood

The writer was born in the small French town of Nantes on February 8, 1828. His father owned a legal firm and was very famous among the townspeople. His mother, of Scottish origin, loved art and even taught literature at a local school for some time. It is believed that it was she who instilled in her son a love of books and set him on the path of writing. Although his father saw in him only the continuer of his business.

Since childhood, Jules Verne, whose biography is presented here, was between two fires, raised by such dissimilar people. No wonder he was hesitant about which path to take. IN school years He read a lot; his mother picked out books for him. But having matured, he decided to become a lawyer, for which he went to Paris.

Already as an adult, he will write a short autobiographical essay in which he will talk about his childhood, his father’s desire to teach him the basics of law, and his mother’s attempts to raise him as an artist. Unfortunately, the manuscript has not been preserved; only those closest to him read it.

Education

So, upon reaching adulthood, Verne goes to Paris to study. At this time, the pressure from the family was so strong that the future writer literally ran away from home. But even in the capital he does not find the long-awaited peace. The father decides to continue guiding his son, so he secretly tries to help him get into law school. Vern finds out about this, deliberately fails his exams and tries to enter another university. This continues until there is only one faculty of law left in Paris, where the young man has not yet tried to enter.

Vern passed the exams with flying colors and studied for the first six months, when he learned that one of the teachers had known his father for a long time and was his friend. This was followed by a major family quarrel, after which the young man for a long time didn't communicate with my father. Nevertheless, in 1849 Jules Verne graduated from the Faculty of Law. Qualification upon completion of training - licentiate of law. However, he is in no hurry to return home and decides to stay in Paris. By this time, Verne had already begun to collaborate with the theater and met such masters as Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. He directly informs his father that he will not continue his business.

Theater activities

Over the next few years, Jules Verne experiences dire need. The biography even testifies that the writer spent six months of his life on the street, since there was nothing to pay for the room. But this did not encourage him to return to the path chosen by his father and become a lawyer. It was during these difficult times that Verne's first work was born.

One of his friends from the university, seeing his plight, decides to arrange a meeting for his friend at the main Historic Parisian Theater. A potential employer studies the manuscript and realizes that this is an incredibly talented writer. So in 1850, a production of Verne’s play “Broken Straws” appeared on stage for the first time. It brings the writer his first fame, and well-wishers appear ready to finance his work.

Cooperation with the theater continues until 1854. Verne's biographers call this period the initial period in the writer's career. At this time, the main stylistic features his texts. Over the years theatrical work the writer produces several comedies, stories and librettos. Many of his works continued to be performed for many years.

Literary success

Jules Verne learned a lot of useful skills from his collaboration with the theater. The books of the next period differ greatly in their themes. Now the writer was seized with a thirst for adventure; he wanted to describe what no other author had been able to do. This is how the first cycle, called “Extraordinary Journeys,” was born.

In 1863, the first work of the cycle “Five Weeks in a Balloon” was published. Readers praised it highly. The reason for the success was that Verne complemented romantic line adventure and fantastic details - for that time this was an unexpected innovation. Realizing his success, Jules Verne continued to write in the same style. Books are coming out one after another.

“Extraordinary Travels” brought the writer fame and glory, first in his homeland and then in the world. His novels were so multifaceted that everyone could find something interesting for themselves. Literary criticism saw in Jules Verne not just the founder of the fantastic genre, but also a man who believed in scientific and technical progress and the power of the mind.

Trips

Jules Verne's travels were not only on paper. Most of all, the writer loved sea travel. He even had three yachts that bore the same name - Saint-Michel. In 1859, Verne visited Scotland and England, and in 1861 - Scandinavia. 6 years after that, he went on a transatlantic cruise on the then-famous Great Eastern steamship in the USA, saw Niagara Falls, and visited New York.

In 1878, the writer travels the Mediterranean Sea on his yacht. On this trip he visited Lisbon, Gibraltar, Tangier and Algiers. Later he also sailed again on his own to England and Scotland.

Jules Verne's travels are becoming increasingly large-scale. And in 1881 he set off on a long voyage to Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. There were also plans to visit St. Petersburg, but a storm prevented this plan. The writer's last expedition took place in 1884. Then he visited Malta, Algeria and Italy, as well as a number of other Mediterranean countries. These travels formed the basis of many of Verne's novels.

The reason for stopping travel was an accident. In March 1886, Verne was attacked and seriously injured by his mentally ill nephew, Gaston Verne.

Personal life

In his youth, the writer was in love several times. But all the girls, despite signs of attention from Verne, got married. This upset him so much that he founded a circle called “Eleven Bachelors’ Dinners,” which included his acquaintances, musicians, writers and artists.

Verne's wife was Honorine de Vian, who came from a very wealthy family. The writer met her in small town Amiens. Vern came here for a wedding celebration. cousin. Six months later, the writer asked for his beloved’s hand in marriage.

Jules Verne's family lived happily. The couple loved each other and did not need for anything. The marriage produced a son, who was named Michel. The father of the family was not present at the birth, as he was in Scandinavia at that time. Growing up, Verne's son became seriously involved in cinematography.

Works

The works of Jules Verne were not only bestsellers of their time, they remain in demand and loved by many today. In total, the author wrote more than 30 plays, 20 stories and stories and 66 novels, among which there are unfinished ones and published only in the 20th century. The reason that interest in Verne’s work does not subside is the writer’s ability not only to create bright storylines and describe amazing Adventures, but also to portray interesting and lively characters. His characters are no less attractive than the events that happen to them.

Let's list the most famous works Jules Verne:

• "Journey to the Center of the Earth."
• "From the Earth to the Moon."
• "Lord of the world".
• "Around the Moon"
• "Around the world in 80 Days".
• "Michael Strogoff"
• "Flag of the Motherland."
• "15-year-old captain."
• “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, etc.

But in his novels, Verne not only talks about the greatness of science, but also warns: knowledge can also be used for criminal purposes. This attitude towards progress is typical late works writer.

"The Children of Captain Grant"

The novel was published in parts from 1865 to 1867. It became the first part of the famous trilogy, which was continued by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island. The work has a three-part form and is divided depending on who is the main character of the story. The main goal of the travelers is to find Captain Grant. For this they have to visit South America, Australia and New Zealand.

"Captain Grant's Children" is recognized as one of best novels Verna. This is an excellent example of not only adventure, but also youth literature, so it will be easy to read even for a schoolchild.

"Mysterious Island"

This is a Robinsonade novel that was published in 1874. It is the final part of the trilogy. The action of the work takes place on an imaginary island, where Captain Nemo decided to settle, having sailed there on the Nautilus submarine he created. By chance, five heroes who escaped from captivity in a hot air balloon end up on the same island. They begin to develop desert lands, with help from them scientific knowledge. However, it soon becomes clear that the island is not so uninhabited.

Predictions

Jules Verne (his biography does not confirm that he was seriously involved in science) predicted many discoveries and inventions in his novels. We list the most interesting of them:

• A television.
• Space flights, including interplanetary ones. The writer also predicted a number of aspects of space exploration, for example, the use of aluminum in the construction of a projectile car.
• Scuba gear.
• Electric chair.
• An airplane, including one with an inverted thrust vector, and a helicopter.
• Construction of the Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Siberian Railways.

But the writer also had unfulfilled assumptions. For example, the underground strait located under the Suez Canal was never discovered. It also became impossible to fly in a cannon shell to the Moon. Although it was precisely because of this mistake that Tsiolkovsky decided to study space flight.

For his time, Jules Verne was amazing person, who was not afraid to look into the future and dream of scientific discoveries that even scientists could not imagine.

Famous French writer a new one was created literary genre – Science fiction. The most popular works by Jules Verne are:

• no less famous novels writers are and

The writer was born in 1828 in Nantes. Little Jules spent his childhood in the city of ships and sailors. From the early age he dreamed of unusual adventures. He graduated from the local lyceum and paid most attention to subjects such as geography and history. In 1847, Jules received his law degree from the Paris Law School.

Jules Verne did not work as a lawyer for long; he soon left Nantes and went to Paris, where he took up literature. He wrote a play, which was shown first in Paris and then in Nantes. There he published several travel stories and wrote librettos for comic operas.

In 1858 he went to cruise around Great Britain, and four years later made a three-month voyage to the shores of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. During the trip, the future writer wrote down his thoughts and impressions. In addition, he listened to many stories from sailors, some of their stories became the basis for his books.

In 1862, he wrote his first work, which he later brought to the publisher Etzel. A novel called "Five Weeks in a Balloon" was implemented large circulation. The meeting with Etzel, a children's author and part-time publisher, was decisive for Jules. Subsequently, the writers became friends; they both wanted to create new literature, intended for young readers. Verne signed an agreement with Etzel and from 1863 began to write several works a year, and this continued for 40 years.

While working on his works, Jules Verne often came to scientific and technical exhibitions, studied reports on expeditions, and also read a lot scientific literature. Thanks to this, the author combined scientific knowledge with his imagination and wrote entertaining books. Before writing the work "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" the writer studied various projects submarines that operated on various sources energy. In the story about the legendary Captain Nemo, he took as a basis the project of engineer Robert Fulton, whose submarine was called "Nautilus" and was shaped like a cigar.

Verne introduced his readers to great inventions and scientific discoveries. Jules showed how people will use them in the future. The writer told readers about the world's oceans and its inhabitants, about continents and distant countries, about their animal and plant world.

After France's war with Prussia, Jules left Paris and went to Amiens, where he lived the rest of his life. In his latest novel "Invasion of the Sea" the writer said that the Sahara Desert will turn into the inland sea of ​​Africa. Shortly before his death, Jules Verne went blind, but despite this, he continued to work. His books were written from dictation. Verne died due to diabetes in 1905. After his death, his card index was preserved, which includes approximately 20 thousand notebooks with information from all spheres of human knowledge.

The future writer was born in 1828 on February 8 in Nantes. His father was a lawyer, and his mother, half-Scottish, received an excellent education and took care of the house. Jules was the first child, after him another boy and three girls were born in the family.

Study and writing debut

Jules Verne studied law in Paris, but at the same time was actively involved in writing. He wrote stories and librettos for Parisian theaters. Some of them were staged and even had success, but his real literary debut was the novel “Five Weeks in a Balloon,” which was written in 1864.

Family

The writer was married to Honorine de Vian, who by the time she met him was already a widow and had two children. They got married, and in 1861 they had a common son, Michel, a future cinematographer who filmed several of his father’s novels.

Popularity and travel

After his first novel was successful and favorably received by critics, the writer began to work hard and fruitfully (according to the recollections of his son Michel, Jules Verne spent time at work most time: from 8 am to 8 pm).

It is interesting that since 1865, the cabin of the yacht “Saint-Michel” has become the writer’s study. This small ship was purchased by Jules Verne while working on the novel “The Children of Captain Grant.” Later, the yachts “San Michel II” and “San Michel III” were purchased, on which the writer sailed around the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas. He visited the south and north of Europe (Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Norway), and the north of the African continent (for example, Algeria). I dreamed of sailing to St. Petersburg. But this was prevented by a strong storm that broke out in the Baltic. He had to give up all travel in 1886 after being wounded in the leg.

Last years

The writer's latest novels differ from his first. They feel fear. The writer renounced the idea of ​​the omnipotence of progress. He began to understand that many achievements of science and technology would be used for criminal purposes. It should be noted that the writer’s last novels were not popular.

The writer died in 1905 from diabetes. Until his death he continued to dictate books. Many of his novels, unpublished and unfinished during his lifetime, are published today.

Other biography options

• If you follow short biography Jules Verne, it turns out that over the 78 years of his life he wrote about 150 works, including documentaries and scientific works(only 66 novels, some of which are unfinished).
• The writer’s great-grandson, Jean Verne, a famous opera tenor, managed to find the novel “Paris of the 20th Century” (the novel was written in 1863 and published in 1994), which was considered a family legend and in the existence of which no one believed. It was in this novel that cars, the electric chair, and the fax were described.
• Jules Verne was a great soothsayer. He wrote in his novels about an airplane, a helicopter, video communications, television, about the Trans-Siberian Railway, about the Channel Tunnel, about space exploration (he almost exactly indicated the location of the cosmodrome at Cape Canaveral).
• The writer’s works have been filmed in different countries around the world, and the number of films based on his books has exceeded 200.
• The writer has never been to Russia, but in 9 of his novels the action takes place in the then Russian Empire.