A journey to the centre of Verne’s writing Guide VISITORS’ BOOKLET ESSENTIAL TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE MUSEUM PRESENTATION OF EACH STAGE OF THE ITINERARY WELCOME THE TRAVELLER Although Jules Verne never lived in this house, he “often had to come Jules Verne loved the geography He was himself a traveller: to and contemplate the river from this height, where it becomes the he studied at school, discovered England and Scotland in 1859, and gateway to the open sea and the path of adventure” (Julien Gracq, in the atlases he pored over, to Scandinavia in 1861. In 1867, he La Forme d’une ville). and which unfolded before his crossed the Atlantic from Liverpool Opened in 1978, the Jules Verne Museum invites you, in the crucible eyes. In the nineteenth century, to New York with his brother Paul of his inspiration, to discover the man, the writer and his imagination, an unprecedented number of on the liner Great Eastern. The a skilful blend of intuition and fantasy, through original objects and expeditions were setting off all impressions he recorded in his documents as well as more contemporary creations, testifying to the over the globe by land and sea. notebooks of the places he visited and the people he met provided extraordinary influence of Jules Verne’s work over time. His meetings with explorers such source material for his stories. as Jacques Arago were critical; they strengthened his resolve The sea was his main source to “paint the whole earth, the of inspiration. From 1866, he JULES VERNE, A NATIVE OF NANTES whole world, in novel form, combined writing and maritime by imagining adventures travel. His trips aboard his peculiar to each country, and own vessels, the three Saint- by creating characters who are Michels, truly stimulated his Jules Verne was born in Nantes on A tight family circle, affectionate peculiar to their environment”, imagination. Twenty Thousand 8 February 1828, on Île Feydeau, parents, and a close rapport with as he wrote in his Memories Leagues under the Sea was an island surrounded by the river his brother Paul and his sisters, of Childhood and Youth. partly written in the small Loire at the time. also helped to foster Jules Verne’s cabin of Saint-Michel I. From the quayside, he could creativity. watch the steady stream of The arts and literature played a merchant ships sail past and see key role. He devoured the books goods from all over the world in the family library: classics, travel being unloaded. and adventure stories such as This major port and modern city The Swiss Family Robinson open to innovation embraced by Johann Wyss, historical the Industrial Revolution with tragedies, and his favourite author, enthusiasm. At the shipyards on Victor Hugo. the banks of the Loire, sailing His early attempts at writing boats were fitted out with engines literature, poetry and novels and left the slipways for distant reflect this romantic influence. shores, equipped with all the Nantes, and the ancient Saint- latest machinery. This time spent Nicolas church in particular, by Verne in the port contained inspired his first dark fantasy novel, the germ of his “extraordinary A Priest in 1839, at the age of voyages”. eighteen. Saint-Michel III in the Bay of Naples, gouache - 2 - - 3 - THE MAN AND THE NOVELIST AND HIS PUBLISHER THE WRITER “I plan out the chapters then These skills formed the basis of start writing my first draft in his collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel In 1848, at the age of 20, Jules pencil, leaving a margin of half which began with the publication Verne moved from Nantes to a page for corrections; then I of in Paris, where his family sent him re-read it all and go over it in Five Weeks in a Balloon 1863 and marked the start of to study law so that he could take ink,” explained Jules Verne in a very close but challenging over his father’s solicitor’s practice. 1894. relationship. However, he had his own agenda. As a tireless worker and Hetzel, who had an educational As well as extricating himself from perfectionist, he paid very close vision and sought to champion doomed love affairs, he cherished attention to plotting and style, his republican values via his dreams of becoming a writer. In a while carrying out extensive children’s publication letter to his father he wrote: research. He read specialist Le journals, kept up to date with Magasin d’éducation et de “Literature above all, since that the latest scientific developments, récréation, supervised Jules is the only thing at which I can be studied geography textbooks Verne’s work very closely. The Portrait of Jules Verne, oil on canvas successful.” He therefore became illustrations, multicoloured covers a frequent visitor to bookshops, and travelogues, and arranged and advertising posters for the theatres, cafés, and literary salons meetings with scientists and books showcased his editorial in Paris in the hope of achieving explorers. skill and marketing flair, and fame, but it proved elusive. made a significant contribution to the magical appeal of the Extraordinary Journeys. “Literature above all, since that is the only thing at which I can be successful.” In 1857, when he was looking for In 1871, the Verne family settled secure employment, he married in Amiens, Honorine’s home town. Honorine de Viane and got a job Now that they were comfortably as a stockbroker. He very swiftly off and had established neglected his wife and son Michel, themselves in society, they born in 1861, and devoted himself moved into an elegant, tastefully once again to writing - “the furnished residence where they one true source of happiness”. entertained the middle-class Although the writer’s family life citizens of Amiens, and journalists was a painful failure, he achieved from all over the world. Five Weeks in a Balloon / international fame. Journey to the Centre of the Earth, published by Hetzel - 4 - - 5 - AT THE THEATRE As a young writer, Jules Verne Jules Verne wrote over thirty initially dreamed of being a plays in total, yet this aspect of playwright. his writing is not well known. In fact, he found theatrical success During his bohemian years in by adapting his novels Around Paris, he visited theatres to watch the World in Eighty Days, performances of the classics and Michel Strogoff, and In Search popular plays by Victor Hugo. He of the Castaways for the stage. also worked as a secretary at the These spectacular productions, Théâtre lyrique. Jame’s Prunier, with their dazzling sets and original illustration for Around the Moon In 1850, with support from his staging, paved the way for film (éditions Gallimard) friend Alexandre Dumas fils, adaptations in the following he put on a play at the Théâtre century. historique which he had written THE VERNIVERSE a year earlier entitled Broken Straws - a light-hearted love story. The play was later reprised Jules Verne lived in an era with wonder, it also raises at the Théâtre Graslin in Nantes. teeming with new discoveries. questions and give pause for It was warmly received, but only His Extraordinary Journeys thought. Shadowy outsiders moderately successful. have their roots in the momentum Nemo and Robur are mesmerising of modernity, the triumph of yet disturbing, and Jules Verne science, the wealth does not hide this ambiguity. of technological innovations, He was fascinated by technical and the rise of the machine, innovation, but troubled by its which characterised the uses and applications in modern nineteenth century. society. He was wary of science Looking beyond the countries when it was pushed to extremes, and oceans of the globe, he insufficiently controlled, or fell exploited the transport revolution into the hands of corrupt or to push back the boundaries of malicious individuals. The fate of the unknown – the centre of Humanity, the Earth and Nature the Earth, the depths of the sea, preoccupied him. and space – and created worlds The power of his work explains in which inventiveness takes its creative influence on film precedence over realism and adaptations and the graphic arts. verisimilitude. The world created by Jules Verne Poster for the stage adaptation Although this depiction of remains strikingly modern even of Michel Strogoff scientific progress fills readers today. - 6 - - 7 - Cover: illustration by Édouard Riou depicting Professor Aronnax in Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, after the photograph of a young Jules Verne reproduced on the back cover. Musée Jules Verne 3 rue de l’Hermitage, 44100 Nantes 2 cours du Champ-de-Mars Tél. 02 40 69 72 52 Nantes 44 923 CEDEX 09 Tél. : 02 40 99 48 48 www.julesverne.nantesmetropole.fr.