About the Author

Jules Gabriel Verne was born on February 8, 1828 in Nantes, France. As a child, he would watch the many ships on the Loire River, sparking his imagination. He was so fascinated with the idea of having an adventure that he stowed away on a ship bound for the West Indies, but his father was waiting for him at the next port and promptly returned him home. He later went to Paris to study law and began writing the text for operettas and other theater work. When his father discovered he was writing instead of studying law, he pulled his financial support, so he was forced to take a job as a stockbroker. In 1857, Jules was married to Honorine de Viane Morel, a widow with two daughters. In 1861, they had their only child together, a son named Michel. By 1863, his writing was beginning to sell and become profitable, prompting him to write at least two books per year. By 1874, Verne was rich and famous, and purchased a ship to sail around Europe. Shot in the leg by his own mentally ill nephew in 1886, he developed a life-long limp, then became an elected official in 1888. Verne passed away on March 24, 1905, at the age of 77, in Amiens, France, from diabetes.