Five Weeks in a Balloon

novel by Verne

Also known as: “Voyages extraordinaires—Cinq Semaines en ballon”(Show More)

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July 16, 2026

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Five Weeks in a Balloon is a novel by Jules Verne, first published in 1863. It is part of Verne's popular Voyages extraordinaires ("Extraordinary Journeys") series, which combines scientific fact with adventure fiction.1

The novel follows the adventures of three British explorers who travel across Africa in a hot-air balloon. Their journey is filled with scientific observations and encounters with various peoples and geographical features. This work was a bestseller and established Verne's reputation as a writer of "scientific fiction".1

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Jules Verne
…Journeys”)—Cinq semaines en ballon (1863; Five Weeks in a Balloon). Initially serialized in Hetzel’s Le Magasin d’éducation et de récréation, the novel became an international best seller, and Hetzel offered Verne a long-term contract to produce many more works of “scientific fiction.” Verne subsequently quit his job at the stock…
Read More
…Journeys”)—Cinq semaines en ballon (1863; Five Weeks in a Balloon). Initially serialized in Hetzel’s Le Magasin d’éducation et de récréation, the novel became an international best seller, and Hetzel offered Verne a long-term contract to produce many more works of “scientific fiction.” Verne subsequently quit his job at the stock…
Read More

Albert Robida
…fantasy-adventure spoof of Jules Verne’s Voyages extraordinaires (“Extraordinary Journeys”) series. In 1882 the collection was published in five books as Le Roi des singes (“King of the Monkeys”), Le Tour du monde en plus de 80 jours (“Round the World in More than 80 Days”), Les Quatre Reines (“The Four…
Read More
…fantasy-adventure spoof of Jules Verne’s Voyages extraordinaires (“Extraordinary Journeys”) series. In 1882 the collection was published in five books as Le Roi des singes (“King of the Monkeys”), Le Tour du monde en plus de 80 jours (“Round the World in More than 80 Days”), Les Quatre Reines (“The Four…
Read More

science fiction
Jules Verne
…extraordinaires—Cinq semaines en ballon (1863; Five Weeks in a Balloon). In this series of contemporary techno-thrillers, the reader learns of balloons, submarines, trains, mechanical elephants, and many other engineering marvels, all described with unmatchable technical accuracy and droll humor.
Read More
…extraordinaires—Cinq semaines en ballon (1863; Five Weeks in a Balloon). In this series of contemporary techno-thrillers, the reader learns of balloons, submarines, trains, mechanical elephants, and many other engineering marvels, all described with unmatchable technical accuracy and droll humor.
Read More