Voyages Extraordinaires
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Les Voyages Extraordinaires ("The Extraordinary Voyages" in English) was a publishing title affixed to the novels, fictional and non-fictional, of French author and Science Fiction pioneer Jules Verne. According to Verne's publisher, Jules Hetzel, the Voyages Extraordinaires intent was "to outline all the geographical, geological, physical, and astronomical knowledge amassed by modern science and to recount, in an entertaining and picturesque format...the history of the universe." [1] (http://jv.gilead.org.il/FAQ/#C4)
Verne's meticulous attention to detail and scientific trivia, coupled with his sense of wonder and exploration, form the backbone of the Voyages Extraordinaires. Part of the reason for the broad appeal of his work was the sense that the reader could really learn something of geology, biology, astronomy, paleontology, oceanography and the exotic locations and cultures of world through the adventures of Verne's protagonists. This great wealth of information distinguished his works as "encyclopedic novels".
The first of Verne's novels to carry the title was Journeys and Adventures of Captain Hatteras, which was the third of Verne's novels. The novels in this series included both fiction and non-fiction, with overt Science Fiction (eg: Journey to the Center of the Earth) or Steampunk (eg: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) elements and without (eg: Around the World in Eighty Days).
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Continued appeal
Jules Verne remains to this day the most translated author in the world, one of the most continually reprinted, and the most widely read French author. Though often scientifically outdated, his Voyages Extraordinaires still retain their sense of wonder that appealled to readers of his time.
The Voyages are frequently adapted into film, from George Melies' fanciful 1901 film A Trip to the Moon, to Walt Disney's 1954 adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, to the 2004 version of Around the World in 80 Days starring Jackie Chan. Their spirit has also continued to influence fiction to this day, including James Gurney's Dinotopia series and "softening" Steampunk's dystopianism with utopian wonder and curiousity.
Bibliography
- Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863)
- Paris in the Twentieth Century (1863, not published until 1994)
- Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)
- From the Earth to the Moon (1865)
- In Search of the Castaways (1867-1868)
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870)
- Around the World in Eighty Days (1872)
- Mysterious Island (1874)
- Robur the Conqueror or The Clipper of the Clouds (1886)
See also
External links
- 'Author Paper on the Voyages Extraordinaires' (http://www.troyhoshor.com/wordpress/?p=482) - A good essay on the Voyages.
- 'Zvi Har’El’s Jules Verne Collection' (http://jv.gilead.org.il/)