This volume offers readers a generous introduction to Jules Verne, whose books are as alive today as they were for readers new to the ideas expressed in them during his time.
Jules Verne: Seven Novels is one of Barnes & Noble’s leatherbound classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world’s greatest authors in exquisitely designed bonded-leather bindings with distinctive gilt edging and an attractive silk-ribbon bookmark. Decorative, durable, and collectable, these books offer hours of pleasure to readers young and old and are an indispensable cornerstone for any home library.
After completing secondary school, Jules studied law in Paris, as his father had before him. However, during the two years he spent earning his degree, he developed more consuming interests. Through family connections, he entered Parisian literary circles and met many of the distinguished writers of the day. Inspired in particular by novelists Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas (father and son), Verne began writing his own works. His poetry, plays, and short fiction achieved moderate success, and in 1852 he became secretary of the Théâtre lyrique. In 1857 he married Honorine Morel, a young widow with two children. Seeking greater financial security, he took a position as a stockbroker with the Paris firm Eggly and Company. However, he reserved his mornings for writing. Baudelaire's recently published French translation of the works of Edgar Allan Poe, as well as the days Verne spent researching points of science in the library, inspired him to write a new sort of novel: the roman scientifique. His first such novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon, was an immediate success and earned him a publishing contract with the important editor Pierre-Jules Hetzel.
For the rest of his life, Verne published an average of two novels a year; the fifty-four volumes published during his lifetime, collectively known as Voyages Extraordinaires, include his best-known works, Around the World in Eighty Days and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Begun in 1865 and published to huge success in 1869, Twenty Thousand Leagues has been translated into 147 languages and adapted into dozens of films. The novel also holds the distinction of describing a submarine twenty-five years before one was actually constructed. As a tribute to Verne, the first electric and nuclear submarines were named Nautilus. In 1872 Verne settled in Amiens with his family. During the next several years he traveled extensively on his yachts, visiting such locales as North Africa, Gibraltar, Scotland, and Ireland. In 1886 Verne's mentally ill nephew shot him in the leg, and the author was lame thereafter. This incident, as well as the tumultuous political climate in Europe, marked a change in Verne's perspective on science, exploration, and industry. Although not as popular as his early novels, Verne's later works are in many ways as prescient. Touching on such subjects as the ill effects of the oil industry, the negative influence of missionaries in the South Seas, and the extinction of animal species, they speak to concerns that remain urgent in our own time.
Verne continued writing actively throughout his life, despite failing health, the loss of family members, and financial troubles. At his death in 1905 his desk drawers contained the manuscripts of several new novels. Jules Verne is buried in the Madeleine Cemetery in Amiens.
Author biography from the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
When Verne's father found out that his son would rather write than study law, he cut him off financially, and Jules was forced to support himself as a stockbroker -- a job he hated but was fairly good at. During this period, he sought advice and inspiration from authors Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo.
Verne stands as the most translated novelist in the world -- 148 languages, according to UNESCO statistics.
Anonymous
Posted Sat Sep 18 00:00:00 EDT 2010
When i saw this book,i knew adventure was not my kind of genre, but the beautiful cover, which is absolutely breathtaking, was what drew me to it. when i started reading the first book, it was absolutely spell binding! i am a big collector of the leatherbound classics, and this is one that will not be put on the bottom shelf! the binding is strong and durable- my book has already been through a lot and is holding up extremely well, and the writing is beautiful and easy to read! from the inside out, this book is a diamond in the rough!
11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Treasure_Reader
Posted Sun Nov 28 00:00:00 EST 2010
Rarely do you see these classic pieces of literature rendered with such sophisticated elegance and beauty, faithfully honoring and respecting the equally unique, creative literary material loved by generations of readers. I have been enjoying them all, and eagerly look forward to each new addition to the series.
Hopefully, the publisher (who appears to be unreachable) will keep releasing more of these fine collected works, including such classic writers as Baum, Milne, Kipling, Twain, London, Melville, Hemingway, Stoker, Shelley, as well as other poets like Virgil, Longfellow, Keats, Eliot, Hawthorne, and Blake.
Time will tell, but hope is alive. Get on board with these fantastic masterpieces of literature, and be swept away in worlds of imagination!
5 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.MyraB51
Posted Wed Jan 05 00:00:00 EST 2011
The Barnes & Noble Leatherbound Classics Series is a treasure, and this specific book is a special jewel. Jules Verne is a must for any library, and the cover is so wonderful. It caught my eye when I saw it online. In person, it is even better. The cover design is as whimsical as the story, and very fitting. The embossment, the gold edging, and the ribbon bookmark are all wonderful. It is a beauty for the shelf, and a treat for the imagination.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed Oct 20 00:00:00 EDT 2010
Yes that's right, seven books in one amazing leather bound volume! This beautifully bound elegant tome has seven of Jules Verne's classic stories. That's right seven, in one BIG book. But, you may not be tempted to purchase this outstanding collection because this company is so backward and foolish. If you don't take the leap of faith and buy this amazing and elegantly bound set of novels you will never know which seven books are included in the collection. Although, it will be such a pretty book to look at up there on your bookshelf, who cares which seven books are included from the hundreds Mr. Verne penned over his lifetime! I give this book five stars because I really don't care what is printed inside that magnificent cover, as it's apparent you don't care either because it's too much trouble to list the seven books included inside that beautiful, elegant, leather bound set of classics. Cheers
2 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed Apr 03 00:00:00 EDT 2013
WARNING:
Do not touch this book if you have sweaty hands or lotion on your hands! The black paint will come of!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Tue Jan 29 00:00:00 EST 2013
Very beautiful book. The book is sturdy, heavy, and feels soft to the touch. It is a steal for $18. Buy the book. I just wish it wasn't bound in China... But everything is now-a-days.
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Posted Wed Nov 21 00:00:00 EST 2012
I live in Belgium, although i had to wait for over a month it was totally worth the wait! i would not buy a sloppy soft cover book printed without detailed and attractive cover as this one has.
I have not read it yet, although it is a very thick book and the pages are thin, i feel that it will last a long time, very sturdy and the gilding is exquisite.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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