Jules Gabriel Verne (1828-1905) was a French author and a pioneer of the science-fiction genre. His novels include
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864),
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869-70), and
Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).
David Coward (translator) is emeritus professor of French at the University of Leeds. He has translated numerous French classics, including Molière's plays, Simenon's novels, and Albert Cohen's
Belle du Seigneur, for which he was awarded the Scott-Moncrieff prize in 1996.