'Little by little they lead to the truth'

 

“Science … is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.” – Jules Verne

Born in the seaport city of Nantes, France on Feb. 8, 1828 Verne grew up around sailors and their tales.  His earliest stories were about the sea and the often-fantastical sea creatures sailors were said to encounter, tales later repeated in his book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and alluded to in Journey to the Center of the Earth.   Those two novels along with From Earth to the Moon led to him being dubbed one of the “Fathers of Science Fiction,” along with H.G. Wells and Hugo Gernsback.

 

The author of 62 books, he is the second-most translated author in history – only behind Agatha Christie.  He also wrote numerous plays, short stories, essays, poetry, songs, and scientific, artistic and literary studies. His work has been adapted for film and television since the beginning of cinema, as well as for comic books, theater, opera, music and video games.

 

In 1890, Verne’s fictional character Phileas Fogg became the centerpiece of a real-life challenge.   Journalist Nellie Bly of The New York World decided to try to "best" the character’s Around The World in 80 Days record, reporting on her escapades as she traveled.  She completed the trip in 72 days, establishing herself as both a daredevil adventurer and one of the most-read reporters of her day.

 

During the trip, she stopped in France to visit Verne and was shocked to find that he produced his masterpieces in a small, nondescript room on a beat-up old typewriter at an ordinary-sized desk. 

 

“It’s not the place you write that matters,” Verne told his aspiring young American visitor.  “It’s what you produce there that counts.”