Author and futurist Jules Verne was born on this day, 8 February, 1828 (d: 24 March, 1905) in Nantes, France. Verne is considered the father of general Science Fiction and recently been credited with “fathering” the steampunk genre. Verne wrote some of the most famous books in the worked, such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey To The Center Of The Earth, and Around The World In 80 Days. Image from http://www.stars-celebrites.com/ Books by Jules Verne* Verne is the second most translated author in the world (the first is Agatha Christie). Jules Verne wrote more than 70 books (54 of them compromising the Voyages Extraordinaires) In 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Captain Nemo travels the world in a giant electric submarine, the Nautilus. Several modern submarines are powered by electricity, granted they’re not as huge as the Nautilus (with formal dining room, library, etc.) but they are not that different from the one Verne described. In 1886, the first electric powered submarine was name The Nautilus. One of the weapons described in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a gun which shoots balls in which “electricity is forced to a very high tension” and delivers a strong electrical jolt….

When Madame Bovary was serialized in a newspaper, the French government sued the author and publisher on charges of immorality. The government lost.

Tomorrow, October 14 1822, we will celebrate the anniversary of famous writer and poet Victor Hugo marrying his childhood sweetheart Adèle Foucher. The marriage survived infidelities, children and scandal. 1 )      Hugo’s brother suffered a nervous breakdown at the wedding breakfast 2 )      That same year Hugo published his poetry collection which won him a pension from Louis XVIII. 3 )      Adèle was Hugo’s neighbor’s daughter. 4 )      Mrs. Hugo was against the marriage, believing her son should marry into a better family. The couple got together after Mrs. Hugo’s death. 5 )      Victor & Adèle had five children. 6 )      Victor started messing around with Juliette Drouet, who became his mistress. 7 )      Around the same time Adèle became involved with a critic and Victor’s good friend Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve. 8 )      Drouet became Victor’s unpaid secretary and even though he had several affairs he always came back to her. 9 )      Victor and another mistress, Léonie Biard, got busted during one of their escapades. Biard went to jail for adultery. Victor walked away, being a pair de France he had immunity from prosecution. (Robb) 10)   Alice Ozy was the fiancé of Victor’s son. However she was unfaithful and he asked…

The dark, brooding and punishing interactions between the complex characters are a mastery of storytelling. The relationships of the characters with themselves are also part of this complex plot