My new narration of one of the great “first novels” in world literature, now live on Audible: Five Weeks in a Balloon is now available in a complete, accurate English translation. Prepared by two of America’s leading Verne scholars, Frederick Paul Walter and Arthur B. Evans, this edition honours not only Verne’s farseeing science, but also his zest, style, and storytelling brilliance. Initially published in 1863, ‘Five Weeks in a Balloon’ was the first novel in what would become the author’s “Extraordinary Voyages” series. It tells the tale of a 4,000-mile balloon trip over the mysterious continent of Africa, a trip that wouldn’t actually take place until well into the next century. Fusing adventure, comedy, and science fiction, Five Weeks has all the key ingredients of classic Verne: sly humour and cheeky characters, an innovative scientific invention, a tangled plot that’s full of suspense and surprise, and visions of an unknown realm.