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Verne did well by authors' standards of his day. He got a cut of theater adaptations--the 19th-century equivalent of optioning screenplays. According to Arthur B. Evans, the most prominent Verne scholar in the U.S. and professor of modern languages at DePauw University, Verne earned more than 50,000 francs--roughly $139,000 in today's dollars--from his share of the box office take the first year Around the World in 80 Days was performed on stage.Verne's deal with Hetzel, his shrewd publisher, was less lucrative. Until 1875, Verne earned a flat sum for each manuscript, with no royalties. For 20,000 Leagues, for instance, he got 3,000 francs, or the equivalent of roughly $8,300. After 1875 he made royalties, but they were not large--only 5% of first-edition sales.
Verne may not have been a great businessman, but he remained intrigued until the end of his life by matters financial. In his 70s, he told a journalist, "If I were young enough I would be tempted to take up the greatest set of subjects the novelist of the future will have--the fictions of business life, with the intricate intrigues … and gigantic deals.
Forbes Magazine on Verne's earnings
Finance can be a boring enough subject. If Verne wrote a novel on business it would probably put readers in a coma. :eusa_doh:
I could understand his works as science books. About 2/3rds of Twenty Thousand Leagues could be omitted without hurting the story one bit. Put the other 2/3rds in a science book for goodness sakes. :eusa_doh: