Five Weeks in a Balloon - by Jules Verne

Jules Verne was born in Nantes, France, on February 8, 1828. In 1850 he completed his legal studies, but he was determined to stay in Paris and become a literary professional, contrary to his father's wishes. It was around this time that Verne, influenced by the scientific and technical achievements of the time, decided to create literature adapted to science, pouring all this knowledge into epic stories, praising the genius of man. He married in 1857. He was then a dissatisfied stockbroker and decided to follow the advice of a friend, the editor PJ Hetzel, converting a descriptive account of Africa into Five Weeks in a Balloon (1863). He achieved immediate success. He signed a twenty-year contract with Hetzel, in which, for 20,000 francs a year, he would have to write two novels a year, always following his new scientific style. The contract was renewed by Hetzel and later by her son. And so, for more than forty years, Voyages Extraordinaires appeared in monthly chapters in the magazine Magasin D'éducation et de Récréation. In Around the World in 80 Days, we find, at the same time, much of Verne's brief experience as a sailor and as a stockbroker. In addition to the two books mentioned, he is also the author of many world-renowned stories, such as “Five Weeks in a Balloon” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth”.