L'autre vie méconnue de Jules Verne

Jules Verne is an immensely renowned writer, one of the most widely read French authors in the world across all ages, yet often underappreciated for his true merit.

Although he sent entire generations on journeys and imagined submarines and electric trains, Jules Verne wrote much of his work without leaving his desk in Amiens.

• Why Amiens? • What did he accomplish there? • What was his relationship with the city?

To understand an author's work, one must sometimes look beyond what he wrote, exploring his life and personal context.

Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828 in Nantes, the eldest of five children. At that time, travel was rare and he saw the sea for the first time at age 12.

• Loved watching machines operate in the local factory • Already developed a taste for technological innovations • Dreamed of imaginary islands and boats

In Nantes, he met Rose Herminie Arnault de La Grossetière and fell madly in love, but an arranged marriage was imposed on the young woman, leaving a lasting mark on the author.

His father was a lawyer and legal administrator who hoped his son would succeed him in this profession.

Jules Verne pursued law studies in Paris and settled there in 1848, following his father's expectations.

An unexpected opportunity changed everything: introduced to Parisian literary salons, he began writing extensively in all genres, tragedies and comedies, devouring great authors like Hugo, Dumas, Musset, Molière and Shakespeare.

• In 1851, he enrolled at the bar but never practiced • Befriended Alexandre Dumas père, who supported him • Had his first play 'Les pailles rompues' performed at the Théâtre Lyrique at age 22 • Became theater secretary and accumulated plays, operettas and fantastic tales

Despite professional success, he lived a period of romantic misfortune, desperately seeking to marry without finding the right woman.

In 1856, his law school friend Auguste Lelarge de married in Amiens. Jules Verne attended as a witness.

He met Honorine Deviane, the bride's sister, a widow and mother of two daughters at age 26. Jules Verne was immediately enchanted.

From 1856 onward, he visited Amiens with increasing regularity and called it his 'beloved city'. The couple married in Paris on January 10, 1857.

At this time, Jules Verne worked at the Stock Exchange as a stockbroker but continued writing. He discovered an article by Edgar Poe that inspired him to write 'Five Weeks in a Balloon', a novel blending adventure and scientific rigor.

In 1862, publisher Hetzel offered Jules Verne a contract for novels similar to 'Five Weeks in a Balloon'. It was a success: in 43 years, he would publish 62 novels and 15 novellas.

In 1865, he discovered Le Crotoy, a small fishing port at the mouth of the Baie de Somme. He fell in love with the sea, rented a house and bought a small boat named Saint-Michel.

Aboard the Saint-Michel, he wrote one of his greatest successes: 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea', exploring the ocean depths.

• Space and interplanetary travel with 'From the Earth to the Moon' • Artificial satellites with 'The Five Hundred Millions of the Begum' • Conquest of the North Pole with 'The Adventures of Captain Hatteras'

In 1870, war broke out between France and Prussia. Jules Verne, at Le Crotoy with his boat, was officially enlisted as a National Guard like all Frenchmen of military age.

The following year, he decided to join Honorine and her daughters, who already lived in Amiens. In a letter, he listed the advantages of this 'wise, orderly, even-tempered' city, with a 'cordial and cultured' society, close to Paris but without its unbearable noise.

To imagine extraordinary adventures, one does better in peace and quiet. Jules Verne would never leave Amiens again, his beloved city and refuge.

Upon his arrival in 1871, the Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts offered him a seat. He was elected and admitted as a full member the following year.

At the Academy, he defied tradition by refusing to give a speech. Instead, he publicly read unpublished chapters from 'Around the World in Eighty Days', a novel that captivated crowds and was translated in foreign newspapers.

In 1873, Verne purchased a house where he wrote several novels. Inspired by his city, he enjoyed strolling through it with his dog and even incorporated Amiens into his stories, transforming his own house into a fictional building.

In 1875, he delivered a lecture on 'An Ideal City' presenting a modernized Amiens with electric tramways, a music pavilion and a permanent circus. He even included local jokes like plumbing problems 'with mathematical regularity'.

• Lived a respectable bourgeois life receiving polite society • Organized spectacular costume balls • Showed commitment to city planning and urban aesthetics

In April 1877, the couple hosted a costume ball themed 'From the Earth to the Moon', with 700 invitations at the Saint-Denis Halls. A parade of famous characters from his works, including Captain Hatteras and Phileas Fogg, animated the evening.

The celebrated photographer Nadar, personal friend of Jules Verne and who inspired Michel Ardan in 'From the Earth to the Moon', came dressed as a large lunar shell.

That same year, thanks to his fortune, Verne acquired the Saint-Michel III, a yacht over 30 meters long with full crew: captain, four sailors, four engineers and a cook.

In 1885, the couple organized a new ball themed 'The Great Inn of the Round World'. Over 200 guests attended, dressed to represent a region of the world.

Despite the festivities, Verne led a highly disciplined life: writing from 5 a.m. and going to bed at 9 p.m. every evening.

In 1882, he rented the townhouse on rue Charles-Dubois where he lived for eighteen years, a grand building befitting his success.

In this house, he wrote most of his 'Extraordinary Voyages' and reached the height of his fame, known throughout the world.

Today, this house has become a museum housing nearly 700 objects evoking the author's life, made impossible to miss by its distinctive tower.

In 1886, Jules Verne became a victim of tragedy: his own nephew Gaston, suffering from mental illness, shot him with a revolver. The young man was institutionalized and Jules would remain limping for the rest of his life.

As a member of the Industrial Society, Verne experimented with a new invention: the telephone, recently installed at the Society's offices.

Faced with this direct mode of communication bypassing the written word, Jules Verne had some personal reservations, having always favored writing.

In 1891, he personally urged the Municipal Council to connect Amiens to Paris by telephone lines, demonstrating his progressive vision.

With his law background and desire to invest locally to modernize Amiens, Jules Verne entered municipal politics.

• In May 1888, he appeared on Frédéric Petit's slate, a Republican • Petit founded 'Progrès de la Somme' and was the outgoing mayor • The opposition was the Conservative Union, much further right • The campaign was tumultuous but Petit prevailed

Elected city councilman, Verne was assigned to the 4th commission covering cultural and social affairs: public education, museums, libraries, theater, public events.

Verne took great interest in city planning and sought to preserve its aesthetics. He remained in this position for 16 years, playing an important role in Amiens' cultural development.

Heavily investing in theater, Verne wrote several annual reports on the theater's operations and activities. The Verne couple had their own reserved box.

• Appointed to the administrative commission of Amiens museum • Member of the Horticultural Society, though he knew little about botany

After over a year on the city council, Verne invested in building a permanent hard-structure circus, requested by Frédéric Petit and the municipality, designed by architect Émile Ricquier.

The circus opened on June 23, 1889. Verne gave the opening address before 3,000 spectators who showered him with applause. He invited the audience to an imaginary journey through the building.

Outside performances, it is truly possible to enjoy a guided tour of the Municipal Circus in all its aspects, visiting the portico, boxes, machinery, dome, stables, stage and bleachers.

In 2003, the Municipal Circus of Amiens received a new name: the Jules Verne Circus, a belated but well-deserved honor.

American adventurer Nellie Bly, who in 1889 wanted to beat Phileas Fogg's fictional record by circumnavigating the world in 73 days, visited Amiens and was received by the Vernes at the end of 1889.

• In 1895, administrator of the Amiens Savings Bank • Guarantor of deposits and Board of Directors member • Received numerous visitors and journalists at his home

Time passed and age caught up with him. In 1900, he stopped attending the theater. In 1904, he abandoned his bank position.

Even in his final years, his intellectual activity remained strong and he continued working on his novels.

• Afflicted with cataracts, gradually losing his sight • Had to rely on his wife and granddaughters • They read to him aloud

On March 16, 1905, a diabetic crisis weakened him severely. Jules Verne died on March 24, 1905 in his Amiens home, after 120 years. Over 5,000 people attended his funeral on March 28, and hundreds of condolence messages arrived from around the world.

In his office, Jules Verne left several unfinished manuscripts. His son Michel would take over, complete and transform these texts for publication always under his father's name.

Barely a week after his death, the Academy voted for a monument to be erected in his memory. Inaugurated in 1909, this tall bust stands just steps from his house on Jules Verne Boulevard.

The statue does not leave the writer alone: at its feet, three young readers devour his novels, consult maps and dream of adventure, symbolizing Verne's legacy for future generations.

His death moved people far beyond French borders. A universal figure was gone, despite the fact that he had often been considered a second-tier author by some during his lifetime.

His books adapted for youth and the educational purpose of the 'Extraordinary Voyages' reduced Verne to his talents as a science communicator, keeping him outside mainstream French literature.

Systematically rejected by the French Academy despite commercial success, Verne was recognized late by his peers and suffered because of it, even though he was a bestselling author during his lifetime.

He revolutionized the book object through Hetzel editions and their iconic illustrated red covers, establishing a new publishing standard.

• His novels continue captivating millions of readers • Regularly adapted to film, television, theater, comics, video games and opera • Delayed but lasting recognition of universal significance

Throughout his life, Jules Verne sought to explore the world through his extraordinary voyages, but Amiens was truly his anchor, his city of engagement, reflection and creation.

• His libraries nourished him intellectually • Its inhabitants inspired him with comic, heroic, ridiculous yet always endearing characters

It was not merely that Verne benefited from Amiens by writing 30 novels there. It was that Amiens benefited from Verne, with all the work he accomplished there, notably in public life.

• The Jules Verne House • The Aronnax urban pathway named after the hero of 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' • Magnificent sculpted tentacles evoking Verne's work • A trail discovering iconic locations linked to his life and work