Jules Verne : the definitive biography / William Butcher ; introduction by Arthur C. Clarke.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Butcher, William, 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Verne, Jules, 1828-1905.

Verne, Jules.

Authors, French--19th century--Biography.

Authors, French.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxxii, 369 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Thunder's Mouth Press, [2006]

Summary:

From the established expert on the subject comes this new biography of one of the world's most successful writers. Breath-taking in scope, and full of the kind of revelations sure to cause press and controversy, Butcher combines existing and new research on Verne' s life with the evidence from Verne's works to explore what sort of man Jules Verne was, how he achieved what he did, what went on inside his head, what really made him tick. Butcher examines the forgotten nitty-gritty of Verne' s life: his appearance, his schoolmates, the size of his bedroom, who he talked to and slept with, who he fell out with and was sued by, the fibs he told, how he got to work, how much he made, what he did on his days off, where he went, what he studied, what he read, whether he was a good husband and father - in sum, all the behavior that points to personality, as only a family member can know it.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Island Adrift: 1828-35 1

Chapter 2 Chantenay Castaway: 1836-39 19

Chapter 3 Schoolboy Writer: 1840-46 37

Chapter 4 What Use Are Girls?: 1846-48 53

Chapter 5 Law Student in the Literary Salons: 1848-51 71

Chapter 6 Plays and Poverty: 1851-54 87

Chapter 7 Tribulations of a Frenchman in France: 1854-57 103

Chapter 8 Married, with Portfolio: 1857-59 121

Chapter 9 Destiny Draws up her Skirts: 1860-63 137

Chapter 10 Golden Years: 1863-66 153

Chapter 11 Whole New World: 1865-67 169

Chapter 12 By Land and Sea: 1867-69 183

Chapter 13 Gathering Clouds: 1868-71 201

Chapter 14 End of Exploration: 1871-72 217

Chapter 15 Last Paradise: 1872-79 229

Chapter 16 Freedom, Music, and the Sea: 1876-80 243

Chapter 17 Salvation through Work: 1879-83 255

Chapter 18 Home Front: 1882-90 269

Chapter 19 Heading for the Hundredth: 1890-1905 283

Epilogue: Communing with the Dead 297.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [307]-328) and index.

ISBN:

1560258543

OCLC:

67774974

Publisher Number:

9781560258544