Doctor Ox and Other Stories

Summary

A scientist shows up in the sleepy village of Quiquendone and promises free gas lighting for the entire town. Surely there’s a catch!

Of course there is, and Jules Verne’s hilarious satire explores it in great detail. “A Fantasy of Doctor Ox” was the centerpiece of an anthology of stories published in 1874 and translated that same year by George Towle. The translation has been extensively revised by Tad Davis, who has also written an afterword with notes on the historical and geographical background of the stories.

Doctor Ox and Other Stories illustrates the surprising range of Verne’s talent: the opening satire (“Doctor Ox”); a Gothic horror story (“Master Zacharius”); a balloon trip that goes terrifyingly wrong (“A Drama in the Air”);  and an ill-fated Arctic expedition (“A Winter Amid the Ice”). The book closes with an essay by Verne’s brother Paul on the dangers of climbing Mont Blanc.