Jules Verne (1828-1905) is one of the world's most translated and published writers. With Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas, and Around the World in Eighty Days, the Frenchman has reshaped modern writing. He dominates the box office and pervades our life and culture.

But behind all the success lay a complex man: a plagiarist, a social misfit, then a provincial recluse. Now...

Jules Verne (1828-1905) is one of the world's most translated and published writers. With Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas, and Around the World in Eighty Days, the Frenchman has reshaped modern writing. He dominates the box office and pervades our life and culture.

But behind all the success lay a complex man: a plagiarist, a social misfit, then a provincial recluse. Now at last comes an authoritative biography worthy of this controversial figure. Hongkonger William Butcher is the most cited specialist on Verne. His countless articles and books have revolutionised understanding of this multi-faceted writer.

Dr Butcher combines ground-breaking research on Verne's childhood and bohemian decades with the revelation of both his first book and an unknown contemporary biography. His deciphering of the manuscripts leads to exclusive information about the novels before Hetzel rewrote them and cut the sex, violence, and politics.

Jules Verne details the novelist's money woes and amorous escapades, Scottish ancestry and right-wing connections, near-murder and court cases. This erudite page-turner exposes the man inside the legend.