Ten things you never knew about... Jules Verne

Jules Verne, author of novels such as Around The World In Eighty Days and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, was born 190 years ago today, on February 8, 1828.

1. According to Unesco, Jules Verne is the second most translated author, behind Agatha Christie but ahead of Shakespeare.

2. There is a tale, probably exaggerated, that aged 11, he tried to sail to the Indies as a cabin boy.

3. Before writing novels, Verne wrote short stories, plays and operetta libretti, most of which are lost.

4. His first literary work was an 1850 stage comedy called Les Pailles Rompues (The Broken Straws).

5. “In consequence of inventing machines, men will be devoured by them.” (Jules Verne).

6. Verne’s 1863 novel Paris In The Twentieth Century predicted glass skyscrapers, high-speed trains and a worldwide communications network.

7. His publisher thought the predictions too pessimistic and it was not published until 1994.

8. In 1886 he was shot and wounded in the leg by his mentally ill nephew, Gaston. Verne had a limp for the rest of his life. He died in 1905.

9. Verne’s first work to be filmed was From The Earth To The Moon, filmed in 1902.

10. Since then around 30 films have taken their inspiration from Jules Verne’s books.