Iona & Peter Opie Library of Children's Literature
1 total work
Never before available in English, the Adventures of the Rat Family was originally published in the French Figaro illustre in 1891. Reprinted in Verne's posthumous 1910 anthology Hier et Demain, this inventive fairy tale takes a whimsical look at evolution and different forms of life. Verne portrays a magical movement around the evolutionary ladder, as a close-knit family of rats is transformed into various forms of life, from molluscs to birds, finally making a metamorphosis into men and women. Including seventeen lavish colour illustrations, and an afterword by leading Verne expert Brian Taves, the Adventures of the Rat Family attests to the diversity of the Verne's work, showing that he truly is an author for all ages.