French author, born in Nantes. To a large extent, his childhood appears to have been characterized by loneliness; he was cared for mainly by housemaids. The emotionally dissatisfied child, however, developed a rich imagination. As a boy he is also said to have attempted to run away as a mess steward on a merchant vessel, but he was caught and sent back to his parents. His father, a successful lawyer and puritan catholic, wanted the son to become a lawyer and eventually take over his firm. Reluctantly, Jules Verne also began studying law, but when he moved to Paris in 1848 he was in fact firmly determined to become an author, with Alexandre Dumas Sr. as one of his main models. During his first time in Paris, he led a debauched life at cafés and literary clubs. Verne's career as an author started with the publication of obscene verses and scabrous short stories in magazines. In the 1850’s, he was employed as a secretary at a theatre (Théatre Lyrique) and he himself began writing vaudevilles and operetta librettos, partly in collaboration with Alexandre Dumas Jr. After the colossal success of his first novel, Jules Verne became a full-time author.