Description

Journey to the Center of the Earth is a classic science fiction novel by Jules Verne It was first published in French in 1864 then reissued in 1867 in a revised and expanded edition Professor Otto Lidenbrock is the tales central figure an eccentric German scientist who believes there are volcanic tubes that reach to the very center of the earth He his nephew Axel and their Icelandic guide Hans rappel into Icelands celebrated inactive volcano Snfellsjkull then contend with many dangers including caveins subpolar tornadoes an underground ocean and living prehistoric creatures from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras the 1867 revised edition inserted additional prehistoric material in Chaps 3739 Eventually the three explorers are spewed back to the surface by an active volcano Stromboli located in southern Italy The category of subterranean fiction existed well before Verne However his novels distinction lay in its wellresearched Victorian science and its inventive contribution to the sciencefiction subgenre of time travelVernes innovation was the concept of a prehistoric realm still existing in the presentday world Journey inspired many later authors including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his novel The Lost World and Edgar Rice Burroughs in his Pellucidar series