The Mysterious Island

The Mysterious Island is a classic adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne.

A story of castaways, similar to Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson. The story begins in the American Civil War, during the siege of Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America. As famine and death ravage the city, five northern prisoners of war decide to escape by the unusual means of hijacking a balloon in the midst of a hurricane.

After flying in stormy weather for several days, the group crash-lands on a cliff-bound, volcanic, unknown (and fictitious) island. They name it "Lincoln Island" in honor of American President Abraham Lincoln. With the knowledge of the brilliant engineer Smith, the five are able to sustain themselves on the island, hoping that they will one day escape.

Deposited on the lonely island in the Pacific, they make do with Yankee ingenuity where Chance has left them nothing. Only later do they find they have a hidden benefactor: Captain Nemo, of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, who resides, alone, secretly on the island. In time, the tiny colony becomes so prosperous that it is able to rescue another castaway from an island a hundred miles away. But all their work will come to naught - their island's volcano is about to awake!

This is the complete version including the three parts; "Shipwrecked in the Air", "The Abandoned" and "The Secret of the Island" The Mysterious Island was first published in 1874. Translated by Agnes Kinloch Kingston. Audiobook read by Mark F. Smith, running time 21 hours, 42 min. Unabridged full version.

Jules Verne (1828 – 1905) was a French writer who pioneered the science fiction genre. Many of his novels involve elements of technology that were fantastic for the day but later became commonplace. Verne is the second most translated author in the world (following Agatha Christie), and his works appear in more translations per year than those of any other writer. Verne is one writer sometimes called "The Father of Science Fiction".