Jules Verne: Les Paradoxes D'Un Mythe

Long perceived as a populariser and writer of novels for young readers, Jules Verne has achieved recognition not only as an accomplished writer but as a bonafide myth, torn between contradictory interpretations. Was he the pioneer of modern technology (the Americans' first trip to the moon was supposedly inspired by his writings) or the bearer of a mythological and religious message ? A progressive or a traditionalist ? An optimist or a pessimist ? Were his sympathies with the left or the right ? Was he a racist and anti Semite, or a man completely tolerant of all cultures ? Even his sexual preferences have been widely debated : misogyny, homosexual tendencies, affairs with women, etc.As an expert decipherer of imaginary constructions, Lucian Boia sets out to shed light on the writer's witty phrasing and his unique way of conceiving his fictional stories. Readers will have a few surprises in store : the prophet of the future writes like a conservative, and his work's dramatic and ironic style leaves little substance for its « scientific » side. If escape and isolation seem to clearly define the man and the writer's most irresistible temptations, the profusion of « external » contributions turns out to be no less astounding : it would seem that Jules Verne's book is not entirely his !This meticulous inquiry was conducted by a historian who seeks out facts hidden behind mere lirerary artifice and ideological games.With this latest work on Jules Verne, historian of the imaginary Lucien Boia continues his series of books exploring the ideas and mythologies that have marked humanity's development.