Jules Verne can be considered the first notable international author to
establish a reputation, through his series of "Voyages Extraordinaires,"
that led readers to expect from him what we would today call science
fiction. No writer of such contemporary significance had previously
carved a literary niche for himself in this genre. However, over half of
Verne's writings were non-scientific adventure stories (ie, *Around the
World in 80 Days*). This, together with the fact that he almost always
based his scientific stories on the technology available at the time,
rather than speculation about science of the future, makes H.G. Wells a
truer father of science fiction in the way the genre developed. What made
the recent discovery of Verne's novel *Paris in the Twentieth Century* so
exciting was that it proved that Verne did want to write futuristic
fiction--but it was decisively rejected by his publisher, who would only
accept scientific stories of the present day that seemed "believable."
Brian Taves
Library of Congress
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Disclaimer--All opinions expressed are my own.
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