Born in 1828, Jules Verne was a 19th-century renaissance man, talented in multiple literary genres—plays, novels, and short stories—as well as being something of an inventor, curious about all kinds of new technology and science. Growing up in the port town of Nantes, France, Verne developed a fascination with the sea as a boy, spurred on by the tales of a schoolteacher whose husband had been lost at sea.

At the age of 19, in 1847, Verne was sent away to Paris by his father. While Verne had already developed an interest in writing, his father wanted him to study law and join the family law practice. While in Paris, he fell in love with a young woman whose parents did not approve, marrying her off to another man instead. This event sent Verne into a depression, but it seems to have been the inspiration for many similar young female characters in his later works. Although he was raised in a Catholic home, Verne drifted away from any specific practice of religion but continued to maintain a philosophy of Deism, which is quite evident in his major literary works. Many of his characters profess confident faith in God, practice religious observance of Christian holy days, and have recourse to prayer and the concept of divine providence.