Paris in the 20th Century

Paris in the Twentieth Century (French: Paris au XX siècle) is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The book presents Paris in 1960, about 100 years in Verne's future, where society has value only for business and technology. Written in 1863 but first published only in 1994, about a young man who lives in a technologically advanced, but culturally backwards future. Often referred to as Verne's lost novel, the work, set in August 1960, paints a... more

Paris in the Twentieth Century (French: Paris au XX siècle) is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne. The book presents Paris in 1960, about 100 years in Verne's future, where society has value only for business and technology. Written in 1863 but first published only in 1994, about a young man who lives in a technologically advanced, but culturally backwards future. Often referred to as Verne's lost novel, the work, set in August 1960, paints a grim, dystopian view of the future. Many of Verne's predictions are remarkably on target. His publisher, Pierre-Jules Hetzel, didn't release the book because it was too unbelievable and inferior to his previous work, Five Weeks in a Balloon. Paris in the Twentieth Century's main character is 16-year-old Michel Dufrénoy, who graduates with a major in literature and the classics, but finds they have been forgotten in a futuristic world where only business and technology are valued. Michel, whose father was a musician, is a poet born too late.... less