Jules Verne was born in Nantes, France, in 1828 and began writing at an early age. He went to several different schools in Nantes before enrolling in law school in Paris in 1847 at the urging of his father, who wanted him to take up the family legal practice. While in law school, Verne continued writing and frequented the literary salons of Paris. Through his visits to the salons, he established contacts with authors, magazine editors, and stage directors, who encouraged and aided his career. Verne was heavily influenced by the writings of Victor Hugo, the author of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, published in 1831.

When Verne graduated law school in 1851, he began publishing his stories and articles in magazines. He also wrote plays and musical comedies for the Théâtre Lyrique. Although his father offered him the family law practice in 1852, Verne declined, deciding instead to pursue his career as an author. He published his first novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon, in 1863.

Verne’s works often combine adventure, travel, history, geography, and science, with an emphasis on recent innovations and discoveries. His most successful novels are Journey to the Center of the Earth, published in 1864, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, published in 1869, and Around the World in Eighty Days, published in 1872.