Paris in the Twentieth Century (
French:
Paris au XXe siècle) is a
science fiction novel by
Jules Verne. The book presents
Paris in August 1960, 97 years in Verne's future, where society places value only on business and technology.
Written in
1863 but first published 131 years later (1994), the novel follows a young man who struggles unsuccessfully to live in a technologically advanced, but culturally backwards world.
Publication deferred
Jules Verne's publisher,
Pierre-Jules Hetzel, thought the book's pessimism would damage Verne's then-booming career, and suggested that he wait 20 years to publish it. In a scathing rebuke to Verne, Hetzel writes about a draft of the novel he has just seen:
"I was not expecting perfection — to repeat, I knew that you were attempting the impossible — but I was hoping for something better."
Hetzel was also critical of Verne for not covering new ground with the novel:
"In this piece, there is not a single issue concerning the real future that is properly resolved, no critique that hasn't already been made and remade before. I am surprised at you ... [it is] lacklustre and lifeless."
With that, Verne put the manuscript in a safe where it was forgotten, only to be discovered by his great-grandson in 1989. The original French version was finally published in 1994, and an English translation by
Richard Howard was published by
Random House in 1996.