From the Earth to the Moon (De la Terre à la Lune) was published by Pierre-Jules Hetzel in 1865. After the American Civil War, the Baltimore Gun Club — a society of artillery enthusiasts — decides to build the world’s largest cannon, the Columbiad, to fire a projectile to the Moon. Impey Barbicane, the Club’s president, leads the project, which attracts international attention and funding. Michel Ardan, a flamboyant Frenchman, proposes that the projectile be designed to carry human passengers, and three men — Barbicane, his rival Captain Nicholl, and Ardan — are sealed inside a hollow aluminum shell and fired toward the Moon.
The parallels with the actual Apollo program, a century later, are striking: Verne chose Florida as the launch site (close to the actual Kennedy Space Center); his projectile carried three crew members (as Apollo capsules did); and his calculations of escape velocity, though imperfect, were in the right order of magnitude. The novel ends on a cliffhanger — the projectile enters lunar orbit but does not land — resolved in the sequel Around the Moon.
Collecting From the Earth to the Moon
First edition in French (Hetzel, Paris, 1865): Hetzel cartonnage binding.
Market values:
- Hetzel first edition, fine: $3,000–$8,000
- First English edition: $500–$2,000
- Later editions: $20–$200
Projected values (2026–2036): Strong appreciation. Remarkable for its scientific prescience.
The Moon Shot
Published in 1865, a century before the Apollo programme, the novel follows members of the Baltimore Gun Club who build a giant cannon to launch a projectile carrying three men to the Moon. Verne’s calculations — the size of the cannon, the velocity required, the launch site in Florida — were remarkably close to the actual Apollo parameters. NASA scientists later acknowledged Verne’s influence. The novel is continued in Around the Moon (1870).
Frequently Asked Questions
How scientifically accurate was Verne? More than any other nineteenth-century novelist. Verne researched his subjects exhaustively, consulting scientists and engineers. His predictions — submarines (Twenty Thousand Leagues), lunar travel (From the Earth to the Moon), circumnavigation by modern transport — were based on careful extrapolation from existing technology. Some predictions (the launch site in Florida, the splashdown recovery) were uncannily precise.