Five Weeks in a Balloon, published in 1863, was Jules Verne’s first major success and launched the long series he called the Voyages Extraordinaires. Three Englishmen traverse the uncharted interior of Africa in a hydrogen balloon, combining the contemporary passion for African exploration with Verne’s gift for technical invention and comic characterization.
The novel established the formula of meticulous scientific speculation wrapped in adventure that would make Verne the most translated French author in history. Download this public-domain classic as a free EPUB.