Literature & Geosciences: Jules Verne’s geological novels, from the 19th to the 21st century

Abstract

A friend of both François Arago, who founded the Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, and his brother Jacques, a renowned traveler, Jules Verne (1828–1905) wrote many novels in which his heroes made use of the most recent scientific knowledge of the time. While the novelist only really had a legal background, he did keep himself apprised of all the latest scientific developments. This study, based on a selection of novels wherein geology is very present as well as on contemporary or current scientific publications, shows that today’s understanding of the geosciences does indeed agree with Jules Verne’s extrapolations. Among the subjects developed are: coal extraction and the hazards of firedamp, so-called “mud volcanoes” and the special case of gold trickling from volcanoes, diamond geo-genesis, the creation of an inland sea in the Sahara, and a foretelling of the Anthropocene Epoch.

Keywords

• Anthropocene
• History of geology
• Diamond formation
• Gold formation
• Coal formation
• Volcanism
• Anthropocene