Paris in the Twentieth Century

In 1863, Jules Verne attempted to have Paris in the Twentieth Century published. Verne had not reached the level of popularity that he would in a couple of years. This was a very early work, and publishers were skeptical of some of his predictions, claiming the book unfit to be published. In retrospect, that's pretty funny.

This book is fairly short, especially compared to some of Verne's most well known works. Two threads follow through the book. The first is merely Verne's exposition of Paris's history from 1860 to 1960, highlighting the technological advances. The second is what makes up the formal plot of the book.

The thin plot follows Michel, a 16-year-old who has just graduated from an academy with a degree in the arts. Unfortunately, art has all but died by 1960, and Michel can find no related work. His uncle signs him up to work at a bank, where Michel meets a pair of friends that share his interest in art. The three friends explore various art mediums, along with an old professor of Michel's. Along the way, Michel falls in love with his professor's daughter. However, after an unfortunate accident at the bank, he finds himself unemployed. Will Michel find occupational salvation in art or will he find himself lost in this dismal land?

Verne's visions of a futuristic Paris may not have impressed publishers from the 1860s, but looking at it today is overwhelming. Verne predicted many things that were not at all in existence in 1860. These inventions include (but are not limited to):
 - Gasoline-powered automobiles
 - Skyscrapers
 - Computers (although they were primarily calculators)
 - Fax machines
 - a rudimentary form of the internet
 - High-speed trains
 - Electric chairs
 - widespread electricity (mostly for lighting)
 - Electric organs (and other electric instruments)
 - Digital (he calls it mechanical) books and music
 - The Panama Canal
 - The Eiffel Tower (not by name, but described it fairly accurately over 20 years before it was built)
 - The Industrial Revolution

Amazing! Some of these things would be in existence by 1960, some later, and he did come up with a couple ideas that never came to be, such as the piano-table-bed combo. That was just plain silly, but to Parisians in 1860, many of those mentioned inventions were far sillier. Verne was also off in predicting that art would be dead and the world would be at peace by 1960. He also seemed to miss the concept of home heating, despite all of the other predictions. Even so, this book is stunningly accurate considering that it was written 100 years before.

I enjoyed the book, mostly for the inventions and Verne's ideas. The plot was thin but adequate. Some books go unpublished for good reason, but Paris in the Twentieth Century does not fit that bill. While far from Verne's strongest (and most popular) works, this book still holds up pretty well.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

64/100