The Mysterious Island

After hijacking a balloon from a Confederate camp, a band of five northern prisoners escapes the American Civil War. Seven thousand miles later, they drop from the clouds onto an uncharted volcanic island in the Pacific. Through teamwork, scientific knowledge, engineering, and perseverance, they endeavour to build a colony from scratch. But this island of abundant resources has its secrets. The castaways discover they are not alone. A shadowy, yet familiar, agent of their unfathomable fate is watching. What unfolds in Jules Verne's imaginative marvel is both an enthralling mystery and the ultimate in survivalist adventures.

Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the genre of science-fiction. He is best known for his novels Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of space travel had been devised. He is the second most translated author of all time, behind Agatha Christie. His prominent novels have been made into films. Verne, along with H. G. Wells, is often referred to as the "Father of Science Fiction".