Jules Verne Forum

<jvf@Gilead.org.il>

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 19961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009

Verne's health as a young man.

From: <ian.thompson~at~ges.gla.ac.uk>
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:21:16 -0000 (GMT)
To: jvf~at~Gilead.org.il

Most biographies of Verne mention Verne's poor health as a young man, non
more so than William Butcher in his book Jules Verne.The Definitive
Biography. Chapter 7 gives a graphic biological account of Verne's
digestive disorders, together with a catalogue of other complaints ranging
from facial paralysis to 'flu, migraines,bilious attacks,headaches etc.The
picture of his early years in Paris is of a young man with a weak
constitution and physically and mentally distressed by his illnesses.
Conversely, on his 1859 visit to Scotland at the age of only 31, there are
no signs of these maladies.By taking "Backwards to Britain" as an
itinerary and by referring to maps, I calculate that he travelled on seven
trains, three steamers, 6 coach journeys and walked over 30 miles
(including the strenuous ascent of Arthur's Seat and several steep climbs
from Princes Street to the Old Town in Edinburgh). In addition to this
exhausting schedule in only 5 days, Verne consumed two gargantuan meals
(at Mr B's house and at Oakley Castle), ate copiously at other times and
had a substantial alcohol intake (many pints of beer, rum,port,sherry,
whisky, claret and sauternes). All this exertion was in a foreign land
whose language he could not speak, and for the most part in cold, windy,
rainy weather. He followed this with a strenuous visit to London.
For a young man who was subject to poor health, this was remarkable and
tends to support Bill Butcher's thesis that much of Verne's health
problems were related to the stress of living in Paris, struggling to make
a succesful career and to supporting a wife and family in the early years
of his marriage. It seems that when he got away from the capital and was
exposed to exciting situations which stimulated his imagination (as in
Scotland and to a lesser extent Le Crotoy) his health improved
dramatically, suggesting that in part his illnesses were psycho-somatic at
this stage in his life.
Ian Thompson
Received on Sat 17 Feb 2007 - 23:22:15 IST

JV.Gilead.org.il
Copyright © Zvi Har’El
$Date: 2009/02/01 22:36:11 $$