The Voyages extraordinaires is a sequence of fifty-four novels by the French writer Jules Verne, originally published between 1863 and 1905. According to Verne's editor Pierre-Jules Hetzel, the goal of the Voyages was "to outline all the geographical, geological, physical, and astronomical knowledge amassed by modern science and to recount, in an entertaining and picturesque format... the history of the universe." Verne's meticulous attention to detail and scientific trivia, coupled with his sense of wonder and exploration, form the backbone of the Voyages. Part of the reason for the broad appeal of his work was the sense that the reader could really learn knowledge of geology, biology, astronomy, paleontology, oceanography and the exotic locations and cultures of the world through the adventures of Verne's protagonists. This great wealth of information distinguished his works as "encyclopedic novels". The first of Verne's novels to carry the title Voyages Extraordinaires was The Adventures of Captain Hatteras, which was the third of all his novels. The works in this series included both fiction and non-fiction, some with overt science fiction elements or elements of scientific romance.
Theme
In a late interview, Verne affirmed that Hetzel's ambitious commission had become the runningliterary theme of his novel sequence: However, Verne made clear that his own object was more literary than scientific, saying "I do not in any way pose as a scientist" and explaining in another interview:
Publication
In the system developed by Hetzel for the Voyages Extraordinaires, each of Verne's novels was published successively in several different formats. This resulted in as many as four distinct editions of each text :
Éditions pré-originales : Serialization in a periodical, usually Hetzel's own biweekly Magasin d'Éducation et de récréation. The serialized installments were illustrated by artists on Hetzel's staff, such as Édouard Riou, Léon Benett, and George Roux.
Éditions originales : complete unillustrated texts published in book form at 18mo size.
Cartonnages dorés et colorés : Complete editions of the text, published in grand in-8º book form with a lavishly decorated cover. These deluxe editions, designed for Christmas and New Year's markets, include most or all of the illustrations from the serializations.
Continued appeal
Jules Verne remains to this day the most translated science fiction author in the world as well as one of the most continually reprinted and widely read French authors. Though often scientifically outdated, his Voyages still retain their sense of wonder that appealed to readers of his time, and still provoke an interest in the sciences among the young. The Voyages are frequently adapted into film, from Georges Méliès' fanciful 1902 film Le Voyage dans la Lune, to Walt Disney's 1954 adaptation of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, to the 2004 version of Around the World in 80 Days starring Jackie Chan. Their spirit has also continued to influence fiction to this day, including James Gurney's Dinotopia series and "softening" Steampunk's dystopianism with utopian wonder and curiosity.
List of novels
Most of the novels in the Voyages series were first serialized in periodicals, usually in Hetzel’s Magasin d'Éducation et de récréation. Almost all of the original book editions were published by Pierre-Jules Hetzel in octodecimo format, often in several volumes. What follows are the fifty-four novels published in Verne's lifetime, with the most common English-language title for each novel. The dates given are those of the first publication in book form.
