From the AFP:
“He was fascinated by progress and he depicted it in his works,” says Didier Fremond, the curator of an exhibition celebrating Verne’s life at the Maritime Museum in Paris, one of a series of events marking the centenary of his death.
From Paris to the western city of Nantes, where Verne was born on February 8, 1828, to the northern town of Amiens, where he died on March 24, 1905, fans will be treated to exhibits, concerts, films and shows in his honor.
Verne ranks among the world’s ten most translated authors, along with William Shakespeare and Vladimir Lenin, according to UNESCO (news – web sites), the UN’s cultural body, and is revered by fans who have launched clubs around the world.
Many of Verne’s works, like his famed “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”, revolve around water and voyages to far-off islands. The boat enthusiast, who owned three yachts in his lifetime, once said, “The need to sail consumed me.”
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