Jules Verne

Considered the Father of Science Fiction along with H. G. Wells, Jules Verne (b.1828) grew up in a middle class family, the son of a successful lawyer.  As a young man, Verne went to Paris and fell under the influence of such authors as Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas.  Upon reading the works of Edgar Allan Poe, whose solitary melancholy Verne incorporate into his own writing as romantic adventure. ­ producing his first noteworthy science-fiction tale, “A Voyage in a Balloon” (1851).  But, despite these early experiences, Verne did not turn entirely to a writing career.  Instead, he became a stockbroker, an occupation he held