Travels in “Far Europe” Jules Verne’s European Dream

Around the time of the Congress of Berlin (1878), Verne devoted several novels in quick succession to Central Europe and the Balkans. This concentration reflects his singular perspective on a part of Europe that was then poorly known, torn between the great powers and undergoing change: these were the lands where the construction of Europe began, with its weaknesses and its ambitions. The aim here is to see what these texts tell us about what Verne expected from the new Europe, and what he dreamed about it.