What do you get if you cross a family of French acrobats with the escape of a Russian political prisoner? ‘César Cascabel!’ Despite the outlandish premise, Verne deftly weaves a story of intrigue, friendship, and survival. After touring the United States with a circus for a number of years, the Casacabel family decide to return to France. However, the theft of their savings forces them to make their journey overland and, it is during this expedition that they encounter the fugitive, Count Narkine. While this reads as a tale of adventure, the author gives us a fascinating insight into the political trials and tribulations of the time. Jules Verne (1828-1905) was a French novelist who became known as the ‘Father of Science Fiction.’ He wrote more than 60 novels, including ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ (1864), ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’ (1870) which was also released as a film, starring James Mason, and ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ (1873), which has been released as a TV drama, featuring former Dr Who star, David Tennant.
Like most of Jules Verne's books it is the story of a journey. Some acrobats wish to travel from California to their native France, and having no money they determine to go in their caravan northwards to Behring Straits, cross on the ice, and make their way through Siberia into Europe. Jules Verne's travellers are generally successful; in spite of robbers, icebergs, and the Russian police the bold Frenchmen triumphantly reach their goal. There is nothing more to be said about the works of this very prolific writer; they have long ago been criticized and classed and are still state-of-the-art today.
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