Jules Verne
in order.
The father of science fiction who sent readers around the world, under the sea, and to the Moon
Science Fiction / Adventure
Genre
Jules Verne is the writer who taught the world to dream in machines. Born in the French port city of Nantes in 1828, he abandoned a legal career for literature and, with publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel, launched the Voyages Extraordinaires: a series of more than fifty novels designed to sweep readers across every corner of the known world and beyond it. Submarines, lunar capsules, high-speed global travel — Verne imagined them all decades before engineers built them, earning him the title 'father of science fiction' alongside H.G. Wells.
His golden decade produced an astonishing run of classics: Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Around the World in Eighty Days, each pairing meticulous scientific detail with pure adventure. Characters like the brooding Captain Nemo and the imperturbable Phileas Fogg became permanent fixtures of popular culture, endlessly reimagined in film, television, and theme parks.
Verne remains one of the most translated authors in history, ranking behind only Agatha Christie in UNESCO's translation index. Because most of his novels are standalone adventures, new readers can start almost anywhere — which makes choosing a reading order both easy and delightfully overwhelming.
Where to start
The good news: nearly every Verne novel stands alone, so you can't really go wrong. The classic on-ramp is Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) or Around the World in Eighty Days (1872), his two most purely fun books, followed by the masterpiece Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870). From there, working through the Voyages Extraordinaires in publication order is the most satisfying path. Two mini-sequences are worth reading in order: the Moon duology (From the Earth to the Moon, then Around the Moon), and the loose Captain Nemo arc, where In Search of the Castaways and Twenty Thousand Leagues both feed into The Mysterious Island, which reveals Nemo's fate. Robur the Conqueror and its sequel Master of the World also pair together. Note that translation matters with Verne — seek out modern translations (Oxford, Wesleyan, or Butcher's Penguin editions), since many free Victorian-era versions cut or mangle the text.
Baltimore Gun Club (Moon duology) 2 BOOKS · IN ORDER
Verne's audacious two-part tale of American artillerymen who fire a manned projectile at the Moon, a century before Apollo.
01
From the Earth to the Moon 1865
The Baltimore Gun Club builds a colossal cannon in Florida to launch three men toward the Moon.
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02
Around the Moon 1870
The sequel follows the travelers inside the projectile as they orbit the Moon and attempt the journey home.
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Robur duology 2 BOOKS · IN ORDER
Two novels about Robur, a brilliant and increasingly dangerous inventor of flying machines.
01
Robur the Conqueror 1886
A mysterious inventor demonstrates the superiority of his heavier-than-air ship, the Albatross, by abducting skeptics for a global flight.
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02
Master of the World 1904
In one of Verne's final novels, Robur returns as a megalomaniac terrorizing America with a vehicle that travels on land, sea, and air.
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Standalone books by Verne 18 BOOKS · BY YEAR
In publication order — read these in any order you like.
01
Five Weeks in a Balloon 1863
Verne's breakout debut sends three adventurers drifting across unexplored Africa by hydrogen balloon.
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02
Journey to the Center of the Earth 1864
Professor Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel, and guide Hans descend into an Icelandic volcano and discover a prehistoric world beneath the surface.
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03
The Adventures of Captain Hatteras 1866
An obsessed British captain drives his crew through mutiny and ice toward the North Pole.
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04
In Search of the Castaways 1868
A message in a bottle launches a globe-spanning rescue mission for the missing Captain Grant, following the 37th parallel around the world.
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05
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea 1870
Professor Aronnax becomes the captive guest of the enigmatic Captain Nemo aboard the submarine Nautilus in Verne's undersea masterpiece.
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06
Around the World in Eighty Days 1872
Unflappable gentleman Phileas Fogg wagers his fortune that he can circle the globe in eighty days, with detective Fix in pursuit.
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07
The Mysterious Island 1875
Castaways from the American Civil War engineer a new life on an uncharted island watched over by a secret benefactor — Captain Nemo's story concludes here.
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08
Michael Strogoff 1876
A courier of the Tsar races across Siberia through invasion and betrayal; many critics rank it among Verne's very best.
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09
Off on a Comet 1877
A comet grazes Earth and carries off a patch of the Mediterranean along with its bewildered inhabitants.
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10
The Begum's Fortune 1879
Two heirs build rival utopian cities — one devoted to health, one to weapons — in Verne's darkest early vision of technology.
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11
The Steam House 1880
Travelers cross northern India in a house pulled by a giant steam-powered mechanical elephant.
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12
Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon 1881
A river journey down the Amazon with a family secret and a cryptogram at its heart.
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13
Mathias Sandorf 1885
Verne's answer to The Count of Monte Cristo: a betrayed conspirator returns years later to exact justice across the Mediterranean.
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14
Two Years' Vacation 1888
Schoolboys shipwrecked on a deserted island must govern themselves — a direct inspiration for Lord of the Flies.
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15
The Carpathian Castle 1892
A seemingly haunted castle in Transylvania hides a scientific explanation, blending Gothic atmosphere with early media technology.
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16
Propeller Island 1895
A French string quartet tours a colossal artificial island that cruises the Pacific carrying feuding millionaires.
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17
An Antarctic Mystery 1897
Verne's sequel to Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym pursues its mysteries into the Antarctic ice.
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18
The Lighthouse at the End of the World 1905
Lighthouse keepers at the desolate tip of South America battle a gang of wreckers in this late, lean adventure.
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The movies READ IT BEFORE YOU WATCH IT
A Trip to the Moon 1902
Based on: From the Earth to the Moon (1865)
Georges Melies's silent landmark, loosely inspired by Verne, is often called the first science fiction film.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1954
Based on: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870)
Disney's classic with James Mason as Nemo and Kirk Douglas; its giant squid battle remains iconic.
Around the World in 80 Days 1956
Based on: Around the World in Eighty Days (1872)
Star-studded epic that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Journey to the Center of the Earth 1959
Based on: Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)
Beloved adaptation starring James Mason and Pat Boone.
Master of the World 1961
Based on: Robur the Conqueror (1886) and Master of the World (1904)
Vincent Price plays Robur in this combined adaptation of both Robur novels.
Mysterious Island 1961
Based on: The Mysterious Island (1875)
Adventure classic famed for Ray Harryhausen's giant stop-motion creatures.
In Search of the Castaways 1962
Based on: In Search of the Castaways (1868)
Disney family adventure starring Hayley Mills and Maurice Chevalier.
Around the World in 80 Days 2004
Based on: Around the World in Eighty Days (1872)
Comedic remake starring Jackie Chan as Passepartout.
Journey to the Center of the Earth 2008
Based on: Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864)
Brendan Fraser 3D adventure that spawned the sequel Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012).
Frequently asked questions
What Jules Verne book should I read first?
Start with Journey to the Center of the Earth or Around the World in Eighty Days — both are short, fast, and pure fun. If you want his masterpiece, go straight to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Almost all of Verne's novels stand alone, so there's no wrong entry point.
Do Jules Verne's books need to be read in order?
Mostly no — the Voyages Extraordinaires are standalone adventures. The exceptions: read From the Earth to the Moon before Around the Moon, read Robur the Conqueror before Master of the World, and save The Mysterious Island until after Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and In Search of the Castaways, since it resolves Captain Nemo's story.
How many books did Jules Verne write?
Verne wrote 54 novels in the Voyages Extraordinaires series published during his lifetime, with additional works released posthumously (some revised by his son Michel), bringing the total to over 60 novels plus short stories and plays. Only a fraction are widely read in English today.
Is The Mysterious Island a sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?
Yes, loosely. The Mysterious Island reveals the fate and true identity of Captain Nemo, and also ties up a thread from In Search of the Castaways. The internal chronology doesn't perfectly match the earlier books — Verne fudged the dates — but reading those two first makes the ending far more powerful.