Five Weeks in a Balloon
by Jules Verne
Verne's first novel, in which he perfected the "contents" of his later work, skillfully mixed a plot full of adventures and twists that intrigued the reader with excerpts from technical, geographical, and historical depiction. The book gives readers an insight into African study, not yet fully known to Europeans of that time, with researchers traveling across the continent in search of its secrets. Public interest in the bizarre stories of African intelligence was at its best, and the book became an instant hit; This made Verne financially independent and gave him a contract with the publishing house of Jules Getzel, which published several dozen more of his works over a period of more than forty years.
