Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Sometimes christened the father of science fiction, the French novelist Jules Verne (1828–1905) is a much greater writer than that suggests. As with his other fantastic voyages, Journey to the Centre of the Earth is as much about an inner exploration as an external journey requiring courage, determination and skill. The central figure of this tale, young Axel – his age is indeterminate – is a reluctant explorer, drawn into the terrible journey to the world's core by an overbearing and irascible uncle, Otto Liedenbrock. Professor Liedenbrock's obsession with discovery takes them – accompanied by the sturdy, devoted guide Hans – miles beneath the earth's crust, in an effort to discover the planet's secrets. But the discovery Axel makes is not just geographic; he also discovers, to some extent, his manhood, tempered by the trauma of their joint experience. This book was the second of Verne's extraordinary voyage novels, and pre-figures themes which recur in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in Eighty Days, and From the Earth to the Moon.