Dr. Samuel Fergusson and his two associates (Dick Kennedy and Joe) venture to Zanzibar in Africa. It is Fergusson’s intention to explore the part of Africa that the Barth and Burton and Speke expeditions were not able to reach. The method by which he will try to accomplish this task is unique, by using a balloon called the Victoria.

In Paris of the 1960’s, Michel Dufrenoy wins an award for a verse he’s written in Latin. The audience is amused and his family is put out. In this society everyone is obsessed with technology and life is only to be lived efficiently.



NOTE: This story was rejected for publication by Jules Hetzel in 1863 when it was written. In 1989 Jean Verne (grand-grandson of Jules Verne) was cleaning out the family house when he discovered the manuscript in a trunk. The manuscript was turned into a novel that was published in 1994; it was immediately a bestseller in France. In truth the whereabouts of the manuscript were known for many years, the story of the discovery was created as a marketing ploy.

The writings of Arne Saknussemm are translated by Professor Lidenbrock and with them he ascertains that they are directions that will lead him to the center of the Earth.

Barbicane and members of the Baltimore Gun Club conceive of a plan to travel to the moon via a gigantic cannon.

Richard Shandon and Dr. Clawbonny both receive letters from an unknown party inviting them to accompany an expedition, the destination unknown. Shandon as the chief officer is also empowered to assemble the crew and pay for the construction of the ship for this adventure, the Forward. The completed ship receives its orders, to go north towards Melville Bay. The ship heads north, but as of yet the Captain has not made his appearance. Eventually a member of the crew reveals himself to be Captain John Hatteras. And his goal is for their British crew to be the first to reach the North Pole. When things don’t go as Hatteras thought they would, the crew (including Shandon) mutinies and destroys the ship. This occurs while Hatteras and others are attempting to find supplies that might have been left behind by a previous expedition; instead they only find the one survivor of an American expedition. Finding the ship destroyed upon their return, Hatteras, Clawbonny and remaining crew makes a boat out of the ships remains and continue in their attempt to reach the pole.



NOTE: This was the first story to be advertised under the series title “Les Voyages Extraordinaires”.

The contents of a shark’s stomach contain a bottle that holds notes written in three different languages. Much of the notes are indecipherable; however, together they may reveal the location of the whereabouts of Captain Harry Grant, whose ship the Britannia was lost over two years ago. While the latitude of Grant is known from the note, the longitude is a mystery. Clues from the notes point to the South American coast as the probable location of the shipwreck. Lord Glenarvan makes it his quest to find Grant; together with his wife, Harry Grant’s children (Mary and Robert) and the crew of his yacht the Duncan they set off for South America. An unexpected passenger in the form of French geographer Jacques Paganel joins the search.

The search takes them where the 37th degree of south latitude crosses the South American continent. Crossing the continent from west to east, they travel through Chile and Argentina (Patagonia), with no luck, when Paganel realizes that part of the clue must actually mean Australia. So they go to where the 37th degree begins crossing Australia, there by chance they meet a man who claims his name is Thomas Ayrton, former quartermaster of the Britannia. Ayrton takes them across the Australian continent, with plans of his own to seize control of the Duncan. Ayrton’s treachery makes the party believe that he has gained control of the Duncan. Dejected that their search of Australia did not turn up Captain Grant, the adventurers travel to New Zealand via a ship that barely seems sea-worthy. The vessel wrecks along the New Zealand coast. The party’s attempt to get to Auckland gets them captured by the Maoris, a tribe of cannibals at war with the English and disinterested in keeping the prisoners alive.

In this sequel, Barbicane and his associates begin their circumnavigation of the moon.

Ships are disappearing all over the world and it believed to be caused by a sea monster. Prof. Pierre Aronnax, author of the book The Mysteries of the Ocean Deep, his companion Conseil and Canadian harpooner Ned Land are hired by the U.S. government to help put and end to this mystery by joining an expedition on the Abraham Lincoln. After months of searching the Abraham Lincoln finds its quarry and in the ensuing collision, Prof. Aronnax, Conseil and Ned Land are thrown overboard. In their efforts to survive, the trio find themselves on the surface of the “monster” itself, which turns out to be a submarine. Captain Nemo allows them to remain alive on board his submarine, the Nautilus, as his permanent guests, meaning he will never allow them to leave and reveal his secrets. The Captain uses this meeting with Prof. Aronnax, whose book he has read, to begin a new cruise through the oceans and seas of the world, so that he can show Prof. Aronnax where his book was lacking in details; meanwhile, Ned Land’s primary interest is in escape.

While on a trip on board the Great Eastern, bound for New York, a woman goes mad when the man she really loves is on board as well as her husband, whom she detests.

Three Englishman (Colonel Everest, Sir John Murray and William Emery) and three Russians (Matthew Strux, Nicholas Palander and Michael Zorn) and their guide, a bushman named Mokoum, set out to measure the arc of a meridian in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa. Everything is going well, until war is declared between England & Russia.

Phileas Fogg accepts a wager that he can’t travel around the world in eighty days, but it looks like trouble when Fix trails him, believing him to be a suspected gentleman thief.

Lt. Jasper Hobson and other members of the Hudson’s Bay Trading Co. and his team along with the company’s guests, Mrs. Paulina Barnett and Thomas Black travel through the North West Territories of Canada to Cape Bathurst on the Arctic Ocean. At Cape Bathurst, Hobson intends on creating a new trading post for the company, Paulina Barnett is along for the adventure and Thomas Black intends on viewing a solar eclipse during the summer of the following year. The party establishes their outpost before winter sets in, but when spring arrives, nearby volcanic activity triggers an earthquake, which the colony survives; however, a startling revelation is revealed later in the summer when Thomas Black tries to observe the total eclipse. Cape Bathurst has changed its position to the north by almost three degrees of latitude and to the west by several hundred miles; Hobson determines that the Cape has become an island. Now the party’s only hope is the onset of winter, so they might travel across the ice, to reach the mainland Russian America (Alaska). When a mild (by Arctic standards) winter sets in and the island is locked by the ice directly north of the Bering Strait; but the ice is not sufficiently frozen enough for safe passage across the ice. The islands colonists wait for the spring thaw and hope that island will move south with the Bering current and that the boat they’ve built will be able to take them to safety.

A collection of short stories:

Le Docteur Ox (Doctor Ox) Doctor Ox and his assistant Ygene come to the small quiet community of Quiquendone located in Flanders. He promises to light this town with a network of oxyhydric gas pipes. During the construction of this network, the quiet community becomes quite excitable, to the point where they are ready to go to war against a neighboring community. But what is the cause of this change in the nature of the good people of Quiquendone? Perhaps it is something in the air, but only Doctor Ox and his assistant Ygene know for sure.

(Doctor Ox) Maître Zacharius ou l’horloger qui a perdu son âme (Master Zacharius or the Clockmaker Who Lost His Soul) As a clockmaker in Geneva, Switzerland begins dying, all of the time pieces that he has crafted begin failing as though a part of his soul became a part of each of them. Soon only one of his time pieces remains functional, and for the clockmaker to gain possession of it, he must give his daughter’s hand in marriage to a man who works for the devil himself.

NOTE: This was originally written in 1854.

(Master Zacharius or the Clockmaker Who Lost His Soul) Un Voyage en Ballon a.k.a. Un Drame dans les Airs (A Drama in the Air) In Germany a man plans to take some passengers on a ride in his balloon. When they don’t show, another man quickly jumps into the basket as the balloon begins its ascent. The unexpected passenger only intent in his ride it for the pilot to take the balloon as high as it will go.

NOTE: This was originally written in 1851.

(A Drama in the Air) Un Hivernage dans les Glaces (A Winter Amid the Ice) When his son Louis and members of the crew of the ship Jeune-Hardie, do not return from sea, Jean Cornbutte decides to refit the ship and go north to find them. Accompanying him on this trip is his son’s fiancée, Marie, and the man who would be his son’s rival for her affections, the ship’s first officer, André Vasling. When the missing party is found in the extreme north, the only thing left to do is survive the bitter cold and rivalry.

NOTE: This was originally written in 1855.

(A Winter Amid the Ice) Quarantième ascension française du Mont-Blanc “The 40th Ascension of Mount Blanc” Jules’ brother Paul writes about his climb up Mont-Blanc.

During the American Civil war, five men:, Captain Cyrus Smith, an engineer; Gédéon (Gideon) Spilett, a reporter; Pencroff a sailor; Harbert (Herbert), a student; Nab (Neb) a cook and Smith’s dog Top escape the siege of Richmond, Virginia by balloon. The balloon was launched during a great storm; the wind from the storm blows the balloon and its six passengers on a 6,000 mile journey. They manage to make it to an island, which they determine is in the South Pacific Ocean. Everyone is accounted for except their natural leader Smith and his dog. The engineer and his dog are found under mysterious circumstances, but it is just the first of the island’s many mysteries. Through the use of the engineer’s vast knowledge, their wits, courage and the occasional help of an unknown force, the men begin to turn this island into their new home. When they complete a small boat, they are able to journey to a nearby island and add another member to their island’s population. That man they eventually find out is named Ayrton, who was left on the nearby island for his involvement in the affair of the “Children of Captain Grant” (1868). The castaways survive an invasion by pirates, but their mysterious benefactor later reveals himself to them. Captain Nemo tells them his history and that they may not be able to survive the next attack. That next attack is from the island itself as the island’s volcano has begun to stir from its hibernation.



NOTE: The stories “Les Enfants du Capitaine Grant” (1868), “Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers” (1870) and this story are all part of a trilogy, with Ayrton and Captain Nemo being the linking characters. Unfortunately, for reasons yet unknown, but probably because this linkage wasn’t planned out in advance, the timelines for the three stories are inconsistent. This story takes place near the end of the American Civil War in 1865 and for the two years following; “Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers” takes place in 1866 and “Les Enfants du Capitaine Grant” takes place in 1864. Don’t try to resolve these discrepancies because it is impossible.

When J.R. Kazallon decides to book passage from Charleston, South Carolina to Liverpool on board the Chancellor, he gets more than he bargained for. Unexpectedly, the ship begins sailing an unusual route to Liverpool, towards the southeast! The Captain relieves himself of his command, especially after the ship’s cargo of cotton catches fire. The first mate assumes command, but the ship wrecks upon a reef in the mid-Atlantic ocean. The fire is put out and the ship is barely made sailable again and after a while the raft they’ve constructed must be put to use. The raft drifts toward the southwest, but the provisions are wanting and the survivors of this shipwreck may have to submit to cannibalism.

The Czar must get a message from Moscow to his brother the Arch Duke who is currently on the other side of Russia in the city of Irkutsk. He calls upon his best courier, Captain Michel Strogoff, to secretly get the message across the Siberian frontier, which is currently being invaded by the Tartars, led by the Emir of Bokhara. The Czar warns Michael about the treachery of a Russian traitor named Ivan Ogareff, who is assisting with the invasion. During Michael’s journey he encounters a girl who is also traveling to Irkutsk, to be reunited with her father who’s living there in exile. He also meets two reporters, Harry Blount of The Daily Telegraph and Alcide Jolivet (who reports only to his “Cousin Madeleine”), who are covering the invasion.

The old Aberfoyle mine in Scotland, that was thought to have been mined out ten years earlier is reactivated, when a dedicated old miner, Simon Ford, makes an astonishing discovery. He contacts the old manager of the mine, James Starr, and the discovery leads to a large vein of coal that will take generations to mine out. Soon the New Aberfoyle mine is opened and everyone begins to profit again; however, a mysterious “goblin” threatens the entire mine.

On the coast of Algiers, French Captain Hector Servadac, his orderly Ben Zoof and the ground below their feet are ripped from the Earth by a passing comet. Their world changed around them, the pair begins exploring and is soon joined by others to make up a small colony. A Russian Count, the crew of his yacht, a group of Spaniards, a young Italian girl, a Jewish merchant and the French professor who tells them where they all are, traveling through space on a comet he’s named Gallia. The only other human inhabitants of this world are a group of British soldiers, stationed on the piece of Gibraltar that was ripped away from the Earth. Confident they will soon be contacted by England in regards to their current situation, these soldiers want nothing to do with the other colonists. Meanwhile, the colonists find refuge in a volcano located on the comet and use it to survive the long journey away from the sun. When the comet completes its orbit (two years Earth time), the professor’s calculations show that the comet will again make contact with the Earth.

A whale hunt in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and the Americas ends in tragedy and Dick Sands, as the only surviving crew member becomes Captain, a fifteen years of age. Not possessing the full skills of a sailor, Dick tries to get the ship east to the South American coast. However, the cook on board the ship has plans of his own and manages to get the ship diverted to eventually reach land in the country of Angola on the continent of Africa. The cook’s plans involving killing Dick and selling the other passengers of the ship into slavery.

Kin-Fo, a well to do Chinese man living in Shang-Hai, is accused by his good friend Wang of not having had any discomforts in his life that would make him appreciate true happiness. When Kin-Fo, receives news that his fortune is lost, he arranges for an insurance policy to be taken out on his life that would cover his death, even by suicide; which he is planning on committing. When Kin-Fo can’t bring himself to end his own life, he contracts Wang to do it, by even giving him a letter that will exonerate him of the deed. Then Wang disappears and then Kin-Fo feels much discomfort, especially when he is informed that his fortunes are not lost. He travels around China, hoping to avoid being murdered before the contract expires. His discomfort increases when a note from Wang arrives saying that he regrets not being able to fulfill the contract, so he has turned it over to his old friend Lao-Shen, a notorious character.

Dr. François Sarrasin, a Frenchman, and a German named Professor Schultze are the sole heirs to a fortune of 525 million francs left by their mutual relative, a deceased Begum of India. With his half of the fortune, Dr. Sarrasin builds an ideal community called Frankville in the northwestern section of the United States. Professor Schultze uses his half of the money to construct his own city called Steeltown, where the main output of the city is weapons of destruction. Schultze’s real intent with Steeltown is to see to the destruction of Frankville.

Nana Sahib is wanted for the atrocities he committed during the Sepoy revolt in India in 1857. Ten years later, an engineer named Banks invites Colonel Munro, Captain Hood, a Frenchman named Maucler and their associates to accompany him on a tour of the northern parts of India via a unique conveyance. The conveyance’s engine resembles a huge elephant; only this elephant is powered by steam. As the adventurer’s head north it becomes obvious to them that Colonel Munro (whose wife was reported killed at Cawnpore) has plans to for revenge. Unknown to him, Nana Sahib has similar intentions.

Joam Garral of Iquitos, Peru concedes to his daughter’s wish to travel to Belem, Brazil where she can marry Manuel Valdez in the presence of Manuel’s invalid mother. The Garrals plan to make the journey to Belem down the Amazon River, via a giant raft. Along the way, Joam plans to get his good name restored, as he is still wanted in Brazil for a crime he did not commit. Absolute proof of Joam’s innocence lies in the hands of a scoundrel named Torres, who has a cryptogram that will exonerate Garral; however, the price that Torres wants for this information is much too high.

Godfrey Morgan of San Francisco, California will only consent to marry, after he is allowed to cruise around the world. His uncle, William Holderkup, consents to this demand, so he lets Godfrey go along with his instructor in deportment, Professor Tartlett. Together they become the only survivors of a “shipwreck”.

A young girl refuses to marry the man her uncles have selected for her until she sees the “Green Ray”. Legend has it that this is an indication of true love.

Jan Van Mitten and his valet Bruno (both of Rotterdam, Holland) are in Constantinople, Turkey. The pair is going to meet with Van Mitten’s tobacco business associate, a headstrong man named Kéraban. At Van Mitten’s meeting Kéraban decides to take them to dinner at his home in Scutari on the other side of the Bosphorus Strait. Just before they are going to cross the Strait a tax is imposed on all vessels that can be used to cross the strait. Enraged by this new tax, Kéraban decides to take his associates to Scutari by traveling seven hundred leagues around the perimeter of the Black Sea so that he won’t have to pay the paltry 10 paras tax. Kéraban, this man of principle, and his reluctant traveling companions begin the journey; the only deadline for Kéraban is that he must be back in 6 weeks time so that he may depart in time to arrange for his nephew’s wedding to a young woman who must be married before she turns seventeen. If she doesn’t meet that deadline, she won’t inherit 100,000 Turkish pounds. Unfortunately for Kéraban and friends the villains Yarhud, Scarpante and the man they work for Seigneur Saffar have plans to ensure that the young woman gets married to Saffar before the deadline.

Nicholas Starkos, captain of the Karysta returns to Vitlyo, Greece only to be denied entry into the home where he was born by his own mother who denounces what he has become. In the late 1820’s (around the time of Verne’s birth) the Greeks and Turks were at war. Lt. Henry d’Albaret of the French navy, along with other Frenchmen has joined the Greeks in this conflict. Henry is wounded during a battle and after his recovery meets Hadjine Elizundo the charming daughter of his banker. Plans are put into place for the two to get married, until Nicholas Starkos comes to the banker making demands of his own for Hadjine’s hand in marriage. Hadjine wants nothing to do with Nicholas Starkos and discovers the secret that Starkos holds over her father. After her father’s death, she is freed from the need to marry Starkos but also feels that because of her father’s dealings that she is unworthy to marry an honest man like Henry d’Albaret. Hadjine begins taking steps to right her father’s wrongs and clear his name. Meanwhile, the distraught Henry d’Albaret has returned to the fighting of the war, that is until he is given command of the ship Syphanta that cruises the Greek archipelago in search of the pirates that have been taking advantage of the Greek and Turkish conflict. The most notorious of these pirates (and suspected leader of them all) is Sacratif. d’Albaret’s search for Sacratif takes him to Crete, where he gets into a showdown with the pirate who also has an interest in marrying Hadjine Elizundo.

Victor Cyprien, a French engineer currently living in the “Diamond Fields” of Griqualand, South Africa desires to marry the beautiful daughter of Mr. Watkins, a man who holds claims to the land that are the “Diamond Fields”. Watkins has other plans for his daughter, which includes her staying in South Africa and marrying one of the wealthier diamond miners. To put himself in a better position to win the hand of Alice, Victor buys a share and begins working his own claim. However, Alice convinces him to return to chemistry and pursue his theory that he can synthesize a diamond. The experiment appears to work as a 243-carat diamond is created and named “The Star of the South”, which he gives to Alice. When the diamond is stolen, Cyprien and three other potential suitors for the hand of Alice, travel across South Africa in pursuit of the suspected culprit.

The mysterious Dr. Antekirtt and his companions work to restore the honor of Count Mathias Sandorf and his two associates, whom were imprisoned for organizing a revolt against the Austrian rule of Hungary.

In Noroë, Norway an exceptionally bright student is sought out by Dr. Schwaryencrona. The doctor goes to the student’s home and requests that his parent’s let him take their son to Norway to give him a proper education that make better use of his intellect. The parents tell the doctor of this history of this boy that came to live in their family. The father found the boy as a baby in a cradle attached to a buoy adrift at sea and the name on the buoy was Cynthia. The parents agree to let their boy Erik accompany the doctor to Stockholm for a better education, but also on the promise that the doctor will make every effort to find the boy’s true parents. Erik receives a fine education but the doctor’s efforts to discover his past prove unfruitful until the name Patrick O’Donoghan is discovered, he is the only sailor who survived the wreck of the Cynthia. A man named Tudor Brown keeps getting in the way of the doctor and Erik uncovering Erik’s birthright as they travel on board the Alaska bound for a destination where the expect to meet the Vega the last known ship to have Patrick O’Donoghan as part of the crew.



NOTE: This story was co-written with André Laurie (pseudonym of Paschal Grousset).

Strange events are occurring around the world, involving lights, sounds and flags that are hung in seemingly impossible to get to locations. At the meeting of the Weldon Institute in Philadelphia, PA, Uncle Prudent (President) and Phil Evans (Secretary) and the membership debate about whether their balloon the Goahead, should have its directional screw located in the front or the back. A man called Robur interrupts and takes over their meeting; he insists that to master the skies, a flying vehicle must be heavier than air. His remarks infuriate the balloonists and after their meeting, Uncle Prudent and Phil are kidnapped and taken on an around the world trip in the Albatross, Robur’s heavier than air “Clipper of the Clouds”.

Hulda Hansen of Dal, Norway anxiously awaits the return of her betrothed, Ole Kamp who promised her great fortune on his return. Ole works on the fishing boat, Viking, which is expected to return soon, but when it doesn’t, it is feared lost. While this is going on, Hulda and her brother Joel also worry about their mother Dame Hansen, who hasn’t been acting like herself, ever since that visit from a man known as Sandgoist. A guest staying with the family is Sylvius Hogg, who is taken with Hulda’s story and uses his position within the government to help out. One trace of the ship is found, a bottle that contains a note for Hulda and a single lottery ticket, numbered 9672. News of the tragedy and the hope of the possible riches of the lottery ticket spread around the countryside, especially interested is the man Sandgoist. What fortunes await the Hansen family when the day of the lottery drawing arrives?

During the time of the United States Civil War, near Jacksonville, Florida, live James Burbank and his family at their plantation known as Camdless Bay. Even though he lives in the south, Burbank was born in north and holds onto the northern ideal that slavery is a bad thing. His main rival in the area is Texar, a former slaver. At their last legal encounter Texar produced an air-tight alibi, which allowed him to return to Jacksonville, get himself into a position of power and stir up the citizens against the Burbank family. An angry mob descends upon Camdless Bay and destroys all but the main house. During the raid, Burbank’s daughter Dy and her guardian Zermah are kidnapped by someone identified as being Texar. Dy and Zermah are taken to Texar’s secret lair. The arrival of James Burbank’s son Gilbert and Zermah’s husband Mars and the Northern Navy help to restore Jacksonville. With order restored, and help from Gilbert and Mars the search for Dy and Zermah begins in earnest. Gilbert and Mars stumble across Texar’s lair and find a note left there by Zermah on the 22nd of March; Texar himself has taken them to the Carneral Island in the Everglades. James Burbank and his party set out to their rescue. Along the way they encounter another party, who is also after Texar for crimes he committed on the 22nd of March, 200 miles from where he was keeping Dy and Zermah prisoners. How can this be, how is it possible for Texar to be in two places at the same time? The mystery can only be resolved once Dy and Zermah are liberated and Texar is taken into custody.

Natalis Delpierre, a Captain in the French Army, recounts the tale of his visit in the summer of 1792 when he went to visit his sister, Irma, who was living in Prussia in the service of Madame Keller and her son Jean. The time of his visit coincides with rumors of France and Germany going to war. When war does break out Jean Keller is forced to join the Prussian Army and serve under the man who is his rival for the attention of Mademoiselle Martha de Lauranay, a man he was scheduled to duel. Martha, her father, Irma and Natalis are forced to leave Prussia on the road to France. Meanwhile, Madame Keller, who is devoted to her son, starts to follow Jean wherever his unit is being deployed. This only lasts a short time as Jean is forced to desert the Army after he strikes his rival and superior officer, then he and his mother must also try to escape to France.

On the evening of February, 15, 1860, sixteen school boys, ages 8 to 14, were asleep on board a schooner moored at a harbor in Aukland waiting to circumnavigate New Zealand on a six weeks’ vacation. The crew was on shore celebrating on the night before the departure. Accidentally or purposely, the moorings got cast off without anyone on board being the wiser and the schooner drifted out to sea with only the boys on board. Twenty two days later they are cast on the shore of an unknown island. And so begins another Verne robinsonade with the difference that the boys are always fighting among themselves at every stage of their stay on the island. They are finally rescued two years later by some good people pursued by pirates who are subdued with the aid of the boys.

Two sons of an infamous French Canadian traitor, fight for the revolution in an effort to make up for their father’s crime.

The North Polar Practical Association has plans on making a purchase of all the territory north of the 84th parallel. This association is in reality the members of the Baltimore Gun Club, including Secretary J.T. Maston, President Impy Barbicane and Captain Nicholl. Through the generosity of Mrs. Angelina Scorbitt the association is successful in its bid for this region of the globe. Only the world wonders why they have bid for this uninhabitable region. With the property secure, the association makes their plans known, they intend on altering the axis of the earth, so that this Artic region will obtain a temperate climate, allow them access to the large coal deposits they expect to find there. And how will they accomplish this? The same way these men made it to the moon, with a large gun. With the Gun Club’s infallible J.T. Maston making the calculations, the association surely can’t lose in the proposition.

César Cascabel and his family have made enough money to return home to France from California. Unfortunately their trip east is cut short, when all their money is stolen. Their only option is to return to France by traveling west, via Alaska, the Behring Strait and Siberia. Along the way, they encounter a Mr. Sergius (a Russian) with his companion Kayette (an Alaskan native) both of whom join the band on their trip west. However, Mr. Sergius has a secret which may jeopardize the safety of the family when the reach the Russian frontier.

After her husband John has gone to sea and she loses her only child, Wat, San Diego resident Dolly Branican goes mad. When she recovers, 4 years later, she discovers that her husband’s ship was lost at sea. As heir to a substantial fortune during her madness, Dolly uses these resources to finance the discovery of the whereabouts of her husband’s ship, the Franklin because she doesn’t believe he is dead. Years later a clue to the fate of the Franklin is discovered in Australia, Dolly quickly goes to there to discover that her husband may still be alive in a remote part of northwestern Australia.

Mysterious things are occurring in a castle located near the village of Werst in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. The villagers are convinced that the Chort (devil) occupies the castle. Count Franz de Télek, a visitor traveling through the region goes to the castle to investigate the disturbances for himself when he is informed that the owner of the castle is Baron Rodolphe de Gortz. Years earlier the Baron was the Count’s rival for the affections of the celebrated Italian prima donna La Stilla. The Count thought that La Stilla was dead, but he sees her image and hear her voice coming from within the castle itself.

Claudius Bombarnac, a reporter is assigned by the Twentieth Century to cover the travels of the Grand Transasiatic Railway which runs between Uzun Ada, Turkestan and Peking, China. Accompanying him on this journey is an interesting collection of characters, including one who is trying to beat the round the world record and another who is a stowaway. Claudius hopes one of them will become the hero of his piece, so his story won’t be just a boring travelogue. He is not disappointed when a special car guarded by troops is added to the train, said to be carrying the remains of a great Mandarin. The great Mandarin actually turns out to be a large consignment being returned to China from Persia. Unfortunately the train must travel through a large part of China that is controlled by unscrupulous robber-chiefs. Before the journey is over, Claudius finds his hero.

Foundling Mick is an orphan growing up in Ireland. Overcoming a number of obstacles, Foundling Mick and Dick, another orphan whose life Foundling Mick had saved start a small business that proves profitable for the pair. Seeking larger opportunities, they move to Dublin, where Foundling Mick’s keen sense of business brings them great fortune. With the business a success, Foundling Mick now only seeks to help the good people he’s met and who’ve helped him along the way.

Because of a noble deed committed by his father, Captain Antifer expects to someday receive the legacy of wealthy Egyptian, Kamylk Pasha, who his father helped many years before. To receive this legacy, first Antifer must await receiving the longitude that accompanies the latitude that he already possesses. It arrives in the form of Egyptian notary, Ben Omar (who must be present when the legacy is uncovered) and his “assistant” Nazim. Nazim is actually Saouk, son of Kamylk’s treacherous cousin and feels the legacy is rightly his and he only waits for the right time to steal it all. The Egyptians, along with Antifer, his nephew Juhel (who only desires to marry Antifer’s niece Enogate) and family friend Tregomain journey to the Gulf of Oman to uncover the legacy. What they do find is a longitude and the name of a banker in Tunisia who holds the latitude. To keep the money from the legacy in his family, the banker insists that the single Antifer must marry his sister, before he will release the latitude. Antifer concedes to this demand, but the next location takes them to an island in the Gulf of Guinea, where they discover another there is another legatee who holds the latitude of yet another island, this one located north of Norway. How many more islands and how many more legatees must be visited before the real legacy is found?

A French string quartet (Sébastien Zorn, Frascolin, Yvernes and Pinchinat), traveling from San Francisco to their next engagement in San Diego, is diverted to Standard Island. Standard Island is an immense man-made island designed to travel the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The wealth of residents of the island can only be measured in millions. The quartet is hired to play a number of concerts for the residents during their tour of the islands (Sandwich, Cook, Society, etc.) of the South Pacific. The island seems an idyllic paradise; however, it is an island divided in two. The left half’s population is led by Jem Tankerdon and is known as the Larboardites. The right half’s population is led by Nat Coverley and is known as the Starboardites. Despite the obstacles encountered on their journey, the two parties have a disagreement that threatens the future of the island itself.

The great pirate Ker Karraje kidnaps Thomas Roch, a great French inventor. It is Karraje’s plan that Roch build for him the ultimate weapon “The Roch Fulgurator”.

Two cousins (Jean Taconnat & Marcel Lornans) are traveling from Cette, France to Oran, Algeria to join the 5th Chaussers d’Afrique. On their trip across the Mediterranean, they meet the Désirandelle family and their friend Clovis Dardentor. Dardentor is accompanying the family on their trip to Oran, where the son (Agathocle) is to meet the girl (Louise Elissane) whom it was arranged long ago that he would marry. A discussion on board ship gives Jean Taconnat the idea that either he or his cousin should save the life of Clovis (from fight, flood or flame), so that legally they can be adopted. On a tour of the Algerian countryside, Jean waits for an opportunity to save Clovis and Marcel becomes enamored with Louise.

Edgar Allan Poe’s telling of Arthur Pym’s narrative is shown to be true as events come together that bring out clues that help Captain Len Guy trace the fate of his brother’s ship the Jane; the very ship that Arthur Pym was on board at the time of his disappearance. Through the efforts of Mr. Joerling, the crew of the Halbrane is enticed to make the trip to Antarctica to search for any survivors of the Jane.



NOTE: Verne wrote story as a sequel to Edgar Allan Poe’s book The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym . Poe was one of Verne’s favorite authors. In 1864 he wrote an essay discussing Poe’s work.

Three geographers, M. Miguel, M. Felipe and M. Varinas argue amongst themselves about the location of the headwaters of Venezuela’s mighty Orinoco River. They decide to make a journey up river to settle their disagreement. At the same time, Sergeant Martial and his nephew Jean are also making this same journey, although their journey is for a different purpose. They are seeking out Jean’s father, who they hope may still be found living somewhere far upriver. The two parties meet and travel together and are soon joined by another party, Jacques Helloch and his friend Germaine Paterne. The parties on their travels upriver overcome many obstacles, but the result one adventure finds Jacques with a strange attraction to Jean. More than the source of the Orinoco will be discovered before this trip is over.



NOTE: Was published in English for the first in January of 2003.

William J. Hypperbone, an eccentric millionaire, living in Chicago, has left the sum of his fortune, $60,000,000, to the first person to reach the end of “The Noble Game of the United States of America”. The game he devised is based upon the board game “The Noble Game of Goose”; however, in his version, the players are the tokens and the game board is the United States. The contestants are Max Real (with his companion Tommy); Tom Crabbe (with his trainer John Milner); Hermann Titbury (with his wife Kate); Harris T. Kymbale (on his own); Lizzie Wag (with her friend Jovita Foley); Hodge Urrican (with his companion Turk) and the mysterious player only known as “XKZ”. And who is this mysterious “XKZ” who was added to the game by a codicil to the will? Time and completion of the game will tell.

After summarizing the major events of the original novel, the adventures of the Zermatt family and their new friends the Wolstons continues. Fritz and Francis Zermatt along with Jenny Montrose are going to return to Europe with the Unicorn so that Jenny might get her father’s approval to marry Fritz and the boys were to get his father’s account of their stay at New Switzerland published and use the resulting funds to finance their new colony at New Switzerland. Meanwhile Dolly Wolston would go to South Africa to bring her brother and his family to join the colony at New Switzerland. After they leave, the remaining colonists (as they were no longer shipwreck survivors) were determined to investigate the unknown parts of the island. A new river is discovered (named the Montrose after Jenny’s family) and the mountain range is explored, with the peak being named after Jean Zermatt. The threat of savages on the island has become a real thing and the colonists are anxiously awaiting the return of the Unicorn, which was now a few weeks overdue.

Finished with their business in Europe, Fritz, Francis and Jenny have made it to Cape Town, South Africa with the Unicorn, but storm damage has made that ship un-seaworthy. Reunited with Dolly Wolston, her brother and his family they set out aboard the Flag. Unfortunately there is a mutiny on board and the passengers as well as the captain and his mate are set off in a boat. The castaways of the Flag eventually find themselves wrecked at the base of a cliff on the barren shore of an unknown land. They find a way to scale the cliff and soon discover where they’ve landed, New Switzerland. With a feeling of relief they make the journey to the established part of the island only to find out that it has become overrun by savages and the fate of the original colonists is unknown. Providence itself will be required to return New Switzerland to the control of the colonists.



NOTE: Verne wrote this as a sequel to Johann Wyss’s book The Swiss Family Robinson . In this novel the surname of the family is never revealed, Verne gives the family a surname and his tale covers the unexplored parts of “New Switzerland.”

The members of a safari in the Congo discover what appears to be a colony of natives living in the trees.

Captain Bourcart would like to leave Le Havre, France bound for the waters of the Pacific in his whaling vessel the St. Enoch, but first he needs to engage the services of a ship’s doctor and a cooper (barrel maker). A doctor is easily obtained, but the only cooper that is available is Jean-Marie Cabidoulin. The Captain is only too familiar with Cabidoulin, whom he describes as a “prophet of evil”. On every voyage Cabidoulin has ever made, he has always said it will be his last; he’ll never come back and it will probably be caused by a sea monster. Captain Bourcart doesn’t want his crew demoralized by Jean-Marie Cabidoulin and his stories, but he has little choice. Jean-Marie Cabidoulin services are engaged and the St. Enoch can begin its whaling expedition. Along the way the St. Enoch has a few memorable encounters with the British vessel the Repton. While both vessels are off the west coast of the North American continent the whales, which were once plentiful seem to suddenly have disappeared. While off the west coast of Russia at Petropavlovsk, the local fishing boats are quickly returning to harbor because they’ve all spotted a marine monster of gigantic proportions. Could this be the sea monster that Jean-Marie Cabidoulin has always talked about? The crew of the St. Enoch as well as the Repton go to find out for themselves.

Karl and Pieter Kip are the only two survivors of the shipwrecked Wilhelmina. They are rescued by the owner, captain and crew of the brig James-Cook, but it is a ship with problems of its own. The ship’s boatswain Flig Balt and his accomplice Vin Mod and some ruffians they brought onboard have plans underway to try taking control of the ship for their own purposes. With the addition of the Kip brothers onboard, their chances for a successful takeover are diminished. The ever resourceful Vin Mod finds a way for himself and Flig Balt to kill Captain Gibson, allowing Flig Balt to take command. His incompetent leadership gets the ship into trouble during a storm; fortunately for all onboard Karl Kip is an excellent sailor in his own right and he takes charge during the storm, bringing the James-Cook to safety. In a last ditch attempt to take the ship, Flig Balt and some of the ruffians (sans Vin Mod) try to take the ship, only to be thwarted by the Kip brothers and the good crew of the James-Cook. At Hobart-Town, Tasmania (the James-Cook’s home port), the loss of Captain Gibson is mourned and Flig Balt and the ruffians are brought in front of the maritime court. Through evidence carefully planted by the free and devious Vin Mod, Flig Balt is able to successfully accuse the Kip brothers of the murder of Captain Gibson. With no way to prove their innocence the Kip brothers are sentenced to death. Their only advocate is Mr. Hawkins, owner of the James-Cook who manages to get their sentenced changed to life imprisonment in a penal colony, while he continues to look for proof that will bring the real culprits to justice. The good character of the Kip brothers goes along way to let everyone know that would never be capable of murder, but it takes the enlargement of a photograph of Captain Gibson’s eyes to reveal the true culprits in his murder.

Nine laureates of the Antillean School are awarded scholarships, which their benefactor, Mrs. Kathleen Seymour of Barbados, wants them to use for a trip to visit the islands known as the Antilles. With three hundred and fifty islands in this region, the voyage will be limited to the Windward Islands where the students were born, including the English islands of Saint Lucia, Dominica, and Antigua; the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique; the Danish islands of Saint Thomas and Saint Croix; the Swedish island of Saint Barthélemy; and Saint Martin, owned half by the Netherlands and the other half by France. Accompanying the young men on this trip is the school’s Latin phrase spouting bookkeeper, Mr. Patterson. The journey across the Atlantic begins, but unfortunately for them, the ship they’ve been traveling upon, the Alert was commandeered by a group of criminals who had initially planned on dispatching the boys early into the voyage. The pirates decide to keep them alive when they learn the students will be receiving 700£ each when their tour of the island reaches the final island of Barbados. For the pirates to be able to complete their mission they will have not be caught and for the students to survive they need to discover the true identities of the Alert’s crew.

Strange occurrences are reported near the Great Eyrie, in the western part of the state of North Carolina. The US government sends their best investigator, John Strock, to uncover the mystery of the phenomena, which his is unable to do. Later, reports come in from around the country about an object that seems to defy the air, yet another that defies the seas and another that defies the land. Is it possible that these occurrences are all related? After it is determined to be the case, John Strock plans to catch this vehicle, which its owner calls the Terror.

Wladimir Yanof escapes from the Siberian frontier of Russia and returns to Livonia where he returns to help clear the good name of Dimitri Nicolef.

Captain Hardigan and other members of the French forces in Tunisia accompany an engineer named de Schaller on a survey of the abandoned plans and works of Captain Roudaire. M. de Schaller plans to resurrect Roudaire’s plan to create a sea in the midst of a lower portion of the Sahara Desert. All goes well on the survey trip, until the party is attacked and captured by members of the Tuareg tribe, whose leader Hadjar had recently escaped the custody of the French. The party manages to make their escape from the Tuareg only to find themselves almost captured again, until an act of nature cuts them off from the Tuareg.



NOTE: Was published in English for the first in Dec of 2001.

1863.1863.(Paris in the 20th Century)1864.1865.1866.(The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras) [ 2 volumes ]1868. The Children of Captain Grant ) [ 3 volumes ]1870.(Round the Moon)1870. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ) [ 2 volumes ]1871.(A Floating City)1872.(The Adventures of Three Englishmen and Three Russians in Southern Africa)1873.1873.(The Fur Country) [ 2 volumes ]1874.(Doctor Ox)1874. The Mysterious Island ) [ 3 volumes ]1875.(The Chancellor)1876. Michael Strogoff ) [ 2 volumes ]1877.(Black Indies)1877.[ 2 volumes ]1878.(A Captain at Fifteen)1879.(The Tribulations of a Chinaman in China)1879.(The 500 Millions of the Begum)1880.(The Steam House) [ 2 volumes ]1881.1881.(The School of Robinsons)1882.(The Green Ray)1883.(Kéraban the Inflexible) [ 2 volumes ]1884.(The Archipelago on Fire)1884.1885.[ 3 volumes ]1885.(Salvage from the Cynthia a.k.a. The Wreck of the Cynthia)1886.1886.(The Lottery Ticket)1887.(North Against South) [ 2 volumes ]1887.(The Road to France)1888.(Two Years Holiday) [ 2 volumes ]1889.(Family Without a Name) [ 2 volumes ]1889.(Topsy-Turvy a.k.a. The Purchase of the North Pole)1890.[ 2 volumes ]1891.(Mrs. Branican) [ 2 volumes ]1892.(The Carpathian Castle)1892.1893.(Foundling Mick a.k.a. Little Fellow) [ 2 volumes ]1894.(The Wonderful Adventures of Captain Antifer) [ 2 volumes ]1895.(Propeller Island) [ 2 volumes ]1896.1896.[ 2 volumes ]1897.(The Sphinx of the Ice Realm) [ 2 volumes ]1898.(The Mighty Orinoco) [ 2 volumes ]1899.(The Will of an Eccentric) [ 2 volumes ]1900.(Second Fatherland) [ 2 volumes ]1901.(The Aerial Village)1901.(The Stories of Jean-Marie Cabidoulin a.k.a. The Sea Serpent)1902.(The Brothers Kip) [ 2 volumes ]1903.(Travel Scholarships) [ 2 volumes ]1904.1904.(A Drama in Livonia)1905.(The Invasion of the Sea)