The Green Ray

Most of the marvels or impossibilities in here are to be found in the picture there presented to us of Scottish names, manners and costumes. It will hardly be denied that such a Scotch family name as Ursiclos, and such clans as the clan McDouglas and the clan Melville, are sufficiently impossible ; nor can it be counted as anything less than a marvel for a lowland gentleman's butler to wait at dinner and perform all his other duties clad in the 'garb of old Gaul!' But these and innumerable errors of the same kind are all due, apparently, to a fixed idea on the part of M. Verne that all Scotchmen are Highlanders. The story is a perfect setting for the admirable descriptions of Scotch scenery which are the best feature in the book.Most of the marvels or impossibilities in here are to be found in the picture there presented to us of Scottish names, manners and costumes. It will hardly be denied that such a Scotch family name as Ursiclos, and such clans as the clan McDouglas and the clan Melville, are sufficiently impossible ; nor can it be counted as anything less than a marvel for a lowland gentleman's butler to wait at dinner and perform all his other duties clad in the 'garb of old Gaul!' But these and innumerable errors of the same kind are all due, apparently, to a fixed idea on the part of M. Verne that all Scotchmen are Highlanders. The story is a perfect setting for the admirable descriptions of Scotch scenery which are the best feature in the book.Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who helped pioneer the science-fiction genre. He is best known for novels such as A Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Verne is often referred to as the "Father of science fiction" as he wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of space travel had been devised.In 1857 he met Pierre-Jules Hetzel, one of the most important French publishers of the 19th century. Hetzel's advice improved Verne's writings, which until then had been rejected by other publishers. Hetzel read a draft of Verne's story about the balloon exploration of Africa, which had previously been rejected on the grounds that it was "too scientific". With Hetzel's help, he rewrote the story and in 1863 it was published in book form as Five Weeks in a Balloon (Cinq semaines en ballon). Acting on Hetzel's advice, Verne added comical accents to his novels, changed sad endings into happy ones, and toned down various political messages.From that point on, and for nearly a quarter of a century, scarcely a year passed in which Hetzel did not publish one or more of his stories. In 1888, he entered politics and was elected town councillor of Amiens where he championed several improvements and served for 15 years. In 1905, while ill with diabetes, Verne died at his home.