Written just after the mid-19th century, this novel was shelved by its occasionally prescient author when his publisher criticized it for "lifelessness" and a lack of originality. Over one hundred years later, a descendant was able to get it into print. It has now been adapted as a play in a certain European country and includes a number of references that have turned the traditional views of some of the author's critics on their heads. What is it, who wrote it, and when?

elburcher

In 1863, Jules Verne wrote a novel called Paris in the 20th Century about a young man who lives in a world of glass skyscrapers, high-speed trains, gas-powered automobiles, calculators, and a worldwide communications network, yet cannot find happiness, and comes to a tragic end. Hetzel thought the novel's pessimism would damage Verne's then booming career, and suggested he wait 20 years to publish it. Verne put the manuscript in a safe, where it was discovered by his great-grandson in 1989. It was published in 1994. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne Jun 24 06, 8:46 PM

lanfranco

That's correct, elbucher, Verne's publisher, Pierre-Jules Hetzel, didn't think the novel would sell. He might well have been right at the time, but "Paris in the 20th Century" now ranks as an interesting document of one man's view of the future. He wasn't, as it turned out, all that inaccurate in his predictions. Jun 24 06, 8:53 PM

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His first novel sold in 1912. He then wrote over 70 books and many short stories until his death in 1950. His range went from adventures to romance, in the past and in the future. He is best remembered for one specific character which has been seen in print, movies and television, becoming one of the most popular characters in fiction. Who is this author? As bad luck would have it, two of his most famous works were severely damaged by two differing natural disasters in two different cities. His life has been fully documented in a 16th century biography written by one of the first art historians of that country. Who was the artist, the biographer, and how did these pieces get damaged? Which famous character in a 19th century novel is said to have been based on a foreign author who outstayed his welcome? Born to an ancient noble family and grandson of a noted social reformer, this man wrote the first and one of the most famous examples of its genre in his native language -- a work set in the early 17th century that has been filmed several times. One of his great countrymen commemorated his death in music. Who was this author, what did he write, who was his grandfather, and what is the musical composition?

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