We know more about Jules Verne’s creations like Captain Nemo and Phileas Fogg than we do about the man himself. Unless one reads Gonzague Saint Bris’ appreciation, THE WORLD OF JULES VERNE.

Translated from the French by Helen Marx’s, Bris’ WORLD is a different kind of biography for the highly influential sci-fi father, with each two-page spread focusing on a different point in Verne’s life, always accompanied by a quaint, cartoon-like illustration (by Stéphane Heuet) and often showing how the people and places around him would hold direct influence of later characters and plots.

From early memories sipping seawater to depressed days as a member of a broken-hearted bachelors’ club, this covers cornerstones of the writer’s remarkable, prodigious life in bite-sized accounts readymade for short attention spans. As much information as it doles out on his life, it’s the emphasis on his lasting literary influence that will attract most interest.

“Many people think of Verne as the father of science fiction, but we must not forget that his love of the present is as great of the love for the future,” Bris writes. And to that end, the second half focuses on revealing the stories behind the stories: FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON finds its genesis in a 24-minute balloon ride; 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA took him five years to write; his fictional formula for nitroglycerine in THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND proved to be dead-on.

Like many artists, he was not appreciated fully during his lifetime. And his success in print – 62 novels, 18 short stories, many still read today –  did not always carry over into his personal life. Never connecting with his son, Verne had him placed in a penal colony (later to reconcile), and was shot twice by a nephew he heretofore adored.

With a perspective-placing and respect-paying foreword by Arthur C. Clarke, THE WORLD OF JULES VERNE is recommended to fans of the imaginative author. It is not likely to win over detractors or new fans, so is best consumed by those who harbor as much love as the creative force behind it. –Rod Lott

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