Five Weeks in a Balloon: A Journey of Discovery by Three Englishmen in Africa
By Jules Verne
3.5/5
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About this ebook
One of the great "first novels" in world literature is now available in a complete, accurate English translation. Prepared by two of America's leading Verne scholars, Frederick Paul Walter and Arthur B. Evans, this edition honors not only Verne's farseeing science, but also his zest, style, and storytelling brilliance. Initially published in 1863, Five Weeks in a Balloon was the first novel in what would become the author's "Extraordinary Voyages" series. It tells the tale of a 4,000-mile balloon trip over the mysterious continent of Africa, a trip that wouldn't actually take place until well into the next century. Fusing adventure, comedy, and science fiction, Five Weeks has all the key ingredients of classic Verne: sly humor and cheeky characters, an innovative scientific invention, a tangled plot that's full of suspense and surprise, and visions of an unknown realm. As part of the Early Classics of Science Fiction series, this critical edition features extensive notes, all the illustrations from the original French edition, and a complete Verne biography and bibliography. Five Weeks in a Balloon will be a prized addition to libraries and science fiction reading lists, and a must-read for Verne fans and steampunk connoisseurs.
Publication of this book is funded by the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
Jules Verne
Victor Marie Hugo (1802–1885) was a French poet, novelist, and dramatist of the Romantic movement and is considered one of the greatest French writers. Hugo’s best-known works are the novels Les Misérables, 1862, and The Hunchbak of Notre-Dame, 1831, both of which have had several adaptations for stage and screen.
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Reviews for Five Weeks in a Balloon
3 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is my second time reading a book by Jules Verne, and I'm glad it wasn't my first. It was a decent story, marred primarily by a very racist view of the African people (and to a lesser extent, of Arabs) and a few very implausible stretches of reality. This was written ten years before the first work of his I read, Around the World in Eighty Days. That book was much better written and I enjoyed it immensely. All said, this still wasn't bad considering it was Verne's first book, even if at times all I could think was that he must have been paid by the word to write this.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Originally released in French in 1863; first published in English in 1890 (English translation by William Lackland). First in Verne's Extraordinary Voyages series. Full title: Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Gentlemen.In this first of Verne's adventure novels, you can start to see the mix of ingredients which would later make him so popular: adventure, exotic locations, entertaining dialogue between the principal characters, and a pinch of science (or pseudoscience) tossed in. In Five Weeks in a Balloon, there are just three principal characters: Dr. Samuel Ferguson, his man servant Joe, and his friend, sportsman, Richard "Dick" Kennedy. Dr. Ferguson and his companions launch upon an unprecedented journey across the continent of Africa in a hot-air balloon filled with hydrogen of Ferguson's design. The three characters face many trials and dangers on their journey, from threats of starvation, less than cooperative weather and wind currents, capture by dangerous African tribes, and even condors threatening to rip their balloon apart.Verne's writing style overall is a nice and easy one to follow, although at times he tosses in historical details which some might find themselves skipping over. Interest in Africa was still high at the time Five Weeks came out as the continent had not yet fully been explored and Verne's novel fully demonstrates this.Most disconcerting (and at times outright uncomfortable) is the very negative stereotypes of the African natives, which would be completely unacceptable by today's standards. For a work written in the early 1860s, while the Civil War was raging over in the U.S., it probably should not be all that surprising, but that realization does not make it any the more pleasant. Outside of this aspect, however, I found Five Weeks to be an enjoyable read. While certainly not his best, I imagine (this is the first Verne novel I've read, I believe), it was worthwhile to go back and start reading his works from the beginning in order to see how they developed as he went along. (Read as part of my "1860s to 1920s" project.) (Finished reading 8/31/09)