Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Journey to the Center of the Earth
    Unavailable
    Journey to the Center of the Earth
    Unavailable
    Journey to the Center of the Earth
    Ebook332 pages4 hours

    Journey to the Center of the Earth

    By Victor Hugo

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Listen to the audiobook instead

    About this ebook

    "The reason Verne is still read by millions today is simply that he was one of the best storytellers who ever lived." — Arthur C. Clarke
    An adventurous geology professor chances upon a manuscript in which a 16th-century explorer claims to have found a route to the earth's core. Professor Lidenbrock can't resist the opportunity to investigate, and with his nephew Axel, he sets off across Iceland in the company of Hans Bjelke, a native guide. The expedition descends into an extinct volcano toward a sunless sea, where they encounter a subterranean world of luminous rocks, antediluvian forests, and fantastic marine life — a living past that holds the secrets to the origins of human existence.
    Originally published in 1864, Jules Verne's classic remains critically acclaimed for its style and imaginative visions. Verne wrote many fantasy stories that later proved remarkably prescient, and his distinctive combination of realism and romanticism exercised a lasting influence on writers as diverse as Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Jean-Paul Sartre. In addition to the excitement of an action novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth has the added appeal of a psychological quest, in which the sojourn itself is as significant as the ultimate destination.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDover Publications
    Release dateMar 1, 2012
    ISBN9780486111612
    Author

    Victor Hugo

    Victor Hugo (1802-1885) is one of the most well-regarded French writers of the nineteenth century. He was a poet, novelist and dramatist, and he is best remembered in English as the author of Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) (1831) and Les Misérables (1862). Hugo was born in Besançon, and became a pivotal figure of the Romantic movement in France, involved in both literature and politics. He founded the literary magazine Conservateur Littéraire in 1819, aged just seventeen, and turned his hand to writing political verse and drama after the accession to the throne of Louis-Philippe in 1830. His literary output was curtailed following the death of his daughter in 1843, but he began a new novel as an outlet for his grief. Completed many years later, this novel became Hugo's most notable work, Les Misérables.

    Read more from Victor Hugo

    Related to Journey to the Center of the Earth

    Related ebooks

    Classics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Aspen Words Literary Prize Awarded to Tayari Jones

      Apr 12, 2019

      The Aspen Words Literary Prize was awarded yesterday to Tayari Jones for An American Marriage, at a ceremony in New York City. The prize, which operates out of the Aspen Institute, awards $35,000 annually to “an influential work of fiction that illum

      1 min read

    • Article

      When Will Machine-like Thinking Prompt Moral Panic?

      Apr 27, 2018

      In Frank Herbert's "Dune" series (my favorite-science fiction books), he made a bold writerly decision. In a genre famous for robots and computers (particularly in the 1960s), Herbert imagined a futuristic universe with neither. In his telling, some

      3 min read

    • Article

      Going Dutch

      Dec 8, 2021

      THIS work covers a period neatly book-ended by two sea journeys: those of Matilda, William the Conqueror’s Flemish-speaking wife, and the Dutch William of Orange in 1688. Between the two dates, the fortunes of Anglo-Dutch literary relations, like tho

      5 min read

    • Article

      Around The World In 100 Plants

      Oct 26, 2022

      Simon Barnes (Simon & Schuster, £30) WE have become used, in recent years, to the convention of 100 short essays as a means of raising the reader’s eyebrows and setting away a never-ending series of big ideas from the starting point of an everyday o

      5 min read

    • Article

      Town & Country Notebook

      Apr 19, 2023

      1) What’s behind Nelson on his column in Trafalgar Square? 2) Which ‘blithe’ bird does Percy Bysshe Shelley celebrate in one of his poems? 3) The Manx Loaghtan is a breed of which animal? 4) Fritillaria meleagris is the Latin name for which plant? 5)

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Inner Workings Of Gertrude Jekyll

      Aug 4, 2021

      GERTRUDE JEKYLL is one of those enduring arbiters of taste whose influence extends far beyond her own lifetime. It is natural that modern garden historians should wish to mine her considerable paper archive, especially now that we live in a digital a

      5 min read

    • Article

      Pursuing the White Whale

      Dec 2, 2019

      Pursuing the White Whale
      4 min read

    • Article

      They Were One-offs

      Apr 6, 2022

      HOW I wish I’d written this book! Matthew Kelly celebrates four women whose work created the organisations and attitudes to conservation we take for granted today. Two are well known, two are not; all their stories enrich us. The well-known two are O

      7 min read

    • Article

      Darwin Was a Slacker and You Should Be Too

      Mar 30, 2017

      When you examine the lives of history’s most creative figures, you are immediately confronted with a paradox: They organize their lives around their work, but not their days. Figures as different as Charles Dickens, Henri Poincaré, and Ingmar Bergman

      17 min read

    • Article

      The Ridings’ return

      May 3, 2023

      The Ridings’ return
      8 min read

    • Article

      A Potter For Our Times

      Sep 1, 2021

      WHEN perusing this attractively packaged biography of ceramics impresario Josiah Wedgwood (1730–95), your reviewer was prompted to recall one of the few joyous moments of lockdown, Channel 4’s The Great Pottery Throw Down (GPTD): a show that reveals

      5 min read

    • Article

      Cathedral Spotting At Its Best

      Nov 3, 2021

      IF Simon Jenkins were a building, what listing would he receive? Certainly Grade I, but I suspect a special super-plus category would be required. Many people would be content with a career as newspaper editor, columnist, National Trust chairman and

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Walls Around Us

      Sep 17, 2020

      The Walls Around Us
      4 min read

    • Article

      He Made The World A Better Place

      Jan 12, 2022

      THE name Dr John Coakley Lettsom will be familiar to historians of gardens and of medical practice in Britain, but this is the first major effort to place him in the wider context of enlightened middle-class men of taste and science in Georgian Engla

      5 min read

    • Article

      Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER

      Mar 16, 2023

      Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER
      6 min read

    • Article

      Digging Deep

      Jan 22, 2020

      Digging Deep
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Old Un's Notes

      Feb 8, 2023

      The Old Un's Notes
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Old Un’s Notes

      Sep 21, 2022

      The Old Un’s Notes
      6 min read

    • Article

      When The Tide Turned

      May 25, 2022

      FIONA GELL is a marine biologist and published poet—a winning combination, as this memoir proves. It tells how a love of the sea, inseparable from a Manx childhood, turned the author into the scientist who saw her campaign to protect Ramsey Bay (as t

      5 min read

    • Article

      The World Of Writing

      Dec 2, 2021

      The World Of Writing
      4 min read

    • Article

      Pevsner Revisited And Dresser Re-assessed

      Jul 7, 2021

      NIKOLAUS PEVSNER’S aim to bring order and depth to the amateurish world of British architectural writing began when he pitched his idea to Allen Lane of Penguin for a ‘Buildings of England’ series. He produced two guides a year, with his wife, Lola,

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Lives Of Artists

      Sep 27, 2023

      The Lives Of Artists
      6 min read

    Reviews for Journey to the Center of the Earth

    4/5

    148 ratings238 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Professor Leidenbrock and his nephew Axel find a mysterious note suggesting an Icelandic geologist traveled to the center of the earth and lived to tell the tale. The two prepare for the long and arduous journey to Iceland, for that is where the geologist began, and enlist the help of an Icelander named Hans to assist with the journey below ground. Not to spoil a 150-year-old book, but the trio makes it to the center of the earth after several setbacks and strange occurrences, and return safely to ground level.There is a scene near the start of the book in which Professer Leidenbrock and Axel are arguing about what they may find in the center of the earth. The nephew believes that the center would be liquid rock and metal. The professor is convinced that it is solid rock. Both trot out a series of scientific facts and figures to prove their points. Readers are of course meant to side with the Professor and, indeed, he is proven correct later in the book (or there would be no book), but as a modern reader, knowing that the nephew is actually correct, the exchange is pretty hilarious.While the science is obviously not accurate, the book itself is fun. It’s an adventure story written by a master. We read the story from Axel’s point of view, who is reluctant about everything involved in this journey. This makes for a pleasant “surprise” when Axel is proven wrong. If you’ve only ever seen the film version starring James Mason, you will be surprised at some of the differences. I hope you have fun with this classic, as I did.
    • 4/5
      Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth follows the German professor Otto Lindenbrock and his nephew Axel as they, along with their guide Hans, descend into the Icelandic volcano Snæfellsjökull, see various prehistoric animals, and return via the Stromboli volcano in Italy. Verne found inspiration in the geologist Charles Lyell’s 1863 book, Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man as well as some of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. This edition, published by Oxford University Press, features a new translation from the original French by William Butcher. The book also features an introduction situating Verne and his work in its historical milieu as well as an explanation of the translation. As part of the Oxford World’s Classics series, the novel features explanatory notes for many of the scientific and foreign-language terms Verne used to add verisimilitude to the book. Though typically classified as science-fiction, the term was not popularized until Hugo Gernsback used it in the 1920s, and Verne himself would have considered this an adventure novel as it focuses more on the journey than the science or technology involved in getting there. This edition works well for those studying science-fiction and its history, though, and is a must-read for even the casual fan!
    • 4/5
      I probably wouldn't have gotten through this very quickly had I been reading it on my own rather than listening to Tim Curry's masterful performance. He was able to infuse so much character into it, and it truly helped me to appreciate how well done this story really is. There really is a lot of character there. There is also A LOT of detailed geological and instrumental description that probably would have bogged me down, even though I understand it, it's not always the most exciting reading, but definitely added realism to the story. Axel and his uncle Otto, and their guide Hans, really have very distinct personalities that add humor to the story which I believe I would have missed without having the assistance of Tim's reading.

      I highly recommend listening to this version, as we like to say Tim Curry could read the phone book and it would be a 5 star performance. He brings this classic adventure story to life and I'm happy to have experienced it!
    • 4/5
      I know a lot of people who don't bother to read a book that has a movie version. You don't need to worry about this book. The movie is so different from the book that you won't know what will happen.
    • 3/5
      There is a lot to get past in this book, the hysterical narator/nephew, all knowing uncle, mute, resourceful guide, the lack of character progression, the lists of flora, fuana & minerals, and diversions to show of at the time cutting edge science. But for all that it moves fast and always wanting to know what happens next. Ruined only by the lack of a compelling conclusion.
    • 3/5
      I was a young adolescent when I first started reading this book. However, I placed the book on top of the family's station wagon when we stopped at a convenience store only to lose it when we I forget it as I hopped back in the car. Fifty years later, I finally finished it. When Professor Lidenbrock deciphers a runic note authored by Icelandic alchemist Arne Saknussemm, he discovers that the alchemist discovered and traveled a passage in Iceland to the center of the Earth. With the assistance of a Icelandic guide, the taciturn Hans, Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel, and the novel's narrator, follow their predecessor in his descent into an extinct volcano to the center of the Earth.If you have seen either the 1959 movie with James Mason and Pat Boone or the 2008 film with Brendan Fraser, you will not significant differences, especially with the latter which is more a sequel to the book. In the book there are no competitors seeking to first reach the center of the Earth, no dinosaur fights on the beach, or abandoned temples at the center of the Earth. However, the book is a good read nevertheless.
    • 2/5
      “We are of opinion that instead of letting books grow moldy behind an iron grating, far from the vulgar gaze, it is better to let them wear out by being read.”Professor Otto Lidenbrock , metallurgist and bibliophile, returns to his home in Hamburg in 1863 with a prized and obscure Icelandic runic manuscript which he eagerly shows to his nephew, ward and assistant Axel. In the process of which an old piece of paper falls out of the book and is discovered to have a message in code from “Arne Saknussemm!…another Icelander, a savant of the sixteenth century, a celebrated alchemist.” After hours of trying to decipher the code Axel, to his own surprise, succeeds in doing so. Fearful of what this discovery may lead to Axel is initially determined not to reveal it to his uncle believing he alone will never solve it. However, when his uncle refuses to let anyone in the household eat until the riddle is solved, hunger finally forces Axel to yield the message, which is:“Descend, bold traveller, into the crater of the jokul of Sneffels, which the shadow of Scartaris touches before the kalends of July, and you will attain the centre of the earth; which I have done, Arne Saknussemm.”Over the intervening years since his death Saknussmm has been largely discredited but on reading the message the Professor immediately starts secretly preparing for Axel and himself to journey to the extinct Sneffels volcano in Iceland, in the hope of retracing Saknussemm's footsteps. At the time there is a raging scientific debate as to whether the centre of the Earth is cold or hot with the Professor believing it to be the former. He envisages this trip as his opportunity to prove his way of thinking is right. Once on Iceland they hire a guide called Hans and set of on an exciting and dangerous adventure.Firstly I think that it is only fair that I admit that I'm not really a fan of science-fiction and when this is coupled with the fact that the action takes place on earth making the science behind it all the more improbable, then I am going to struggle. My main concern is the lack of character development. Throughout the Professor is portrayed as intrepid explorer who seems to have a logical explanation for everything contrasted with Axel, the cowardly voice of reason trying vainly to oppose him, whereas Hans is a largely silent, steadfast, dependable, unflappable, unquestioning servant. Whilst this did cause a certain amount a contrast and friction between the characters, I cannot in all honestly say that I particularly took to any of them. However, if you are able to put all this to one side and read it purely as a boys' own adventure story then, despite its age and the fact that there are no car chases or gun battles, it still has its place and why it is still read and enjoyed today.
    • 4/5
      I remember being entirely engrossed in this book when I read it as an eleven-year-old boy, feeling I was in those subterranean tunnels and passages with the travellers. Recently I downloaded the Malleson translation onto my Kindle (free from Project Gutenberg) to explore whether the story still has the capacity to engage the adult as it had the child. The simple answer is, yes it does, and in some ways I may have reaped more from the experience this time around, because I appreciated the skill in the characterisation as well as Verne's ability to take us along with them on the adventure. The three main characters - Axel, the young narrator, his eccentric and obsessed uncle Professor Liedenbrock, and their taciturn Icelandic guide Hans - make wonderful travelling companions for the reader. We are sucked along in the whirlwind of the Professor's passion experiencing, like Axel, that heady mix of curiosity and trepidation, relying for our safety on Hans, one of the most steadfast silent heroes in literature. Of course the scientific arguments that Verne presents through the arguments between Axel and the Professor sometimes border on the absurd, and the sights we come across - including an underground ocean, living dinosaurs and a twelve foot humanoid - are fantastic indeed but there is just enough true science to persuade us to leave our disbelief at the entrance to the volcano. Jules Verne was a true pioneer of the science fiction genre. Many lesser writers have followed in his footsteps; but literature is a sustainable magic for readers, and it's our delight that we can still make the journey with the original master.
    • 3/5
      I read a much abridged version of this as a kid but never the whole thing, and I'm glad to have finally read it. It was kind of historically fascinating, and I found Axel a really interesting and unexpected narrator. I think I was expecting something different from the tone, so that was really compelling for me.
    • 3/5
      Though exciting in spots it is essentially a primer on 19th century theistic evolution.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book! I seriously cannot believe that I avoided Verne for decades because I found Wells somewhat plodding. Of course, I've seen the movies made of both authors' works, but it was the most recent (2008) version which piqued my interest. By following the story by telling a narrative which encompassed it, I was having so much fun that I decided to read--and what a trip! It's on my favorites list now.
    • 3/5
      I was a bit surprised how much my expectations with this book were colored by the 1959 movie based off of it, I was surprised because I knew going in they weren't really the same but I still found myself missing the whimsy of the movie, which made the book seem a bit drab in comparison. I found the characters a bit flat, not quite believable by today standards, I never really bought them as real people or believed in their motivations and I found the ending a bit rushed and convenient, though I'm not sure how else it could have ended. That said, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and it was a much faster read then I had expected and was an interesting adventure story. It was also a fascinating look back at the early days of Earth science, of science as we know it in general, and its easy to forget just how much we had to learn.
    • 3/5
      I guess I've been spoiled by modern fast-paced writing. While I did enjoy this book, and it had some great parts, I found a lot of it to be time-killing "filler" type material. Was it really necessary to take 90 pages to actually descend into the earth? Not in my humble opinion.The afterword by Nimoy was interesting, though.
    • 4/5
      When I read this in high school, I loved it, but I have no idea what I'd thnk of it now.
    • 3/5
      Time has not been gentle to this classic.
    • 3/5
      A nice little adventure story full of peril and suspense but I was sorely disappointed with the ending.
    • 3/5
      Through most of the novel, I was intrigued by Verne's descriptions and scientific explanations of the time period. Overall, it was an interesting story, but I was underwhelmed by the resolution and after finishing it, the whole thing seemed pretty anticlimactic. I think one has to go into reading a Verne novel with the expectations of fascinating and outdated science instead of focusing too much on the plot to really enjoy it.
    • 3/5
      It appears that there are two circulating English versions of Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. The one I read on my Kindle was published by Dover, and the protagonists are the German mineralogy Professor Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel, the narrator of the tale.On deciphering a secret Runic/Latin message written in an old Icelandic MS by the 16th c. savant, Arne Saknussemm:Descend the crater of the Jokul of Snafell, that the shadow of Scartaris softly touches before the Kalends of July, bold traveller, and thou wilt reach the center of the earth. Which I have done., the Professor and his nephew set off immediately for Iceland.Arriving in Iceland, the Professor hires an Icelandic eider-hunter, Hans, as a guide to for their ascent of (and subsequent descent into) the crater of Snafell. Marvellous adventures follow, most unbelievable, given what we now know of dormant volcanoes and the center of the earth, and the travellers eventually emerge through the volcano of Mount Stromboli in Sicily. It's an entertaining and quick read, if thoroughly preposterous.
    • 3/5
      I was surprised how easily this read, for a story that's pushing 150 years old. Some of the grammar had the touch of the archaic, but on the whole it felt surprisingly modern. It did get off to a fairly plodding start, but once the journey proper (up and into the volcano) was underway, it moved along nicely.I did find the ending, though exciting enough in its own right, to be a bit of a letdown. Although I admit that "Journey TOWARD the Center of the Earth" wouldn't have been nearly as catchy a title.
    • 4/5
      Journey to the Center of the Earth is the grand adventure story of Professor Lidenbrock's quest to follow a the instructions in a cryptic text that describe how one can descend to the very center of the planet via volcanic tubes originating in an Icelandic volcano. He sets out with his nephew Axel and their hired guide Hans on an extraordinary journey through the bowels of the earth that has them encountering strange phenomena and many dangers. The story is told entirely from Axel's point of view as he writes journal of the trip.This is my first time reading Jules Verne. It was a lot of fun and reminded me very much of the 1959 movie. The story starts off slow and spends a bit more time in the preparation than on the journey than I'd like. I wish there had been more time spent deep within the earth and the discoveries there. Axel is quite over dramatic and probably should never have gone along with his uncle. The science in the story is incredibly out dated so you have to unplug that part of the brain to enjoy the adventure.I listened to the audio book narrated by Tim Curry. His performance is top notch and fits the work beautifully. I love the emotion he's able to give the characters.
    • 4/5
      This was a fun, quick read. I did find it a bit slow to start off with but I was later swept up in the excitement of the journey and the wondrous things that the three travellers encounter on their journey. It's a short book, and didn't take me long to read, but it was definitely worthwhile reading.
    • 4/5
      This is a classic for a reason. A bit technical, but so exciting and enjoyable. If you have adventure in you, you will love this book. A well written escape from the everyday.
    • 5/5
      This is my favorite Jules Verne book. I don't know exactly what it is I like about it, but I find it absolutely fascinating and I like the characters, especially Axel, the professor's nephew. Today, we know that such a journey would most likely be impossible, but I can't help being pulled into the adventure. The copy I read - probably this edition - had notes, with explanations for everything - making the book easy to read, for anyone, with no prior knowledge of French or history. For me, at least half of those notes were a bit unnecessary, but I read them anyway. Someone went to the trouble of explaining every single thing in a book from the 19 century. I didn't need all that help, but it's comforting to know that it's there for those who need it.
    • 5/5
      In my opinion, far and away the best book Verne ever wrote and one of the best sci-fi books ever written. I own several copies, including Heritage Press and Folio Society. If I read French, I'd try to own a first edition.
    • 5/5
      This was the first true adult book I read. I seem to recall the story being a bit different than any of its film depictions. It makes me wish you could attempt to journey to the center of the earth in that way.
    • 4/5
      I thought I should read Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and books like that before I start in on steampunk. Jules Verne puts the science in science fiction. I personally love that he writes about geology or biology in his bizarre narratives. Just to learn a bit! This one does have a bit of a slow start to get to the mountain to go underground... it's around page 80. But then the story picks up speed and it keeps one-uping itself with what is found under that Icelandic volcano. I loved the story more than I thought I would of Professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel, and the trusty Icelandic assistant Hans, always getting them out of a bind. The book is far less boring than I thought it would be. (And also, I want to avoid any movies made from these books, since I can't imagine they're better.) But try not to find it interesting when a character is lost 75 miles under the earth and then his torch goes out... and I don't want to mention anything else they find to ruin the book. I love most 19th century stories and this is no exception but it seemed like I was reading this one in five page chunks. I'm looking forward to others from Verne though! And I can't wait to get into steampunk!
    • 3/5
      Good bedtime reading for the 7 year old daughter and me. And it takes me waaaaay back: I loved Verne when I was 8 and 9 and 10. The plot of this book is preposterous, but so what?
    • 5/5
      An absolute classic. Love it!
    • 3/5
      Tonight is the Manly Book Club, a neighborhood book club I started for an excuse to hangout and talk ideas with the guys in my neck of the woods. We're talking about Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth." While it's not the most interesting book we've read, reading it has certainly been an interesting look through a keyhole at how the world, and fiction, has changed over the last one hundred and fifty years.

      Published in 1864, it's the third of fifty-four (!) in Verne's series of "extraordinary voyages," which includes "Around the World in Eighty Days" and "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea." Today's reader might find it slow, arduous, and painfully melodramatic at points...which, to be honest, is probably how the journey was. Since, writing styles have changed, but this was the 1860s, and Verne was at that time the apex of scifi.

      Slow and arduous though the Journey seems sometimes (it takes half of the book just to get to the volcano down into the Earth), it's still a creative and enjoyable foray of imagination and speculative science. Verne does make stuff up, but his characters weld math and science (as understood then) as much as they do the ropes and lamps they carry on their subterranean adventure. It's an interesting contrast to a lot of today's novels, weighted as much towards social justice as the fantastic, if not more, and not one that suffers in the contrast.

      (It does seem odd that the main character is affianced to his cousin, though...what's with that?)
    • 4/5
      A great classic!