Michel Verne

French writer, editor, and the only child of writer Jules Verne. Some of his works, like Un Express de L'Avenir and In the Year 2889 are notable for their use of pneumatic tubes.

Because of his wayward behaviour in his youth, he was sent by his father to Mettray Penal Colony, a private reformatory near Tours, for six months during 1876. By the age of 19, he caused a scandal by eloping with an actress despite his famous father's objections. By 1883 his father was reconciled to the marriage and Michel got married—only to abandon his newlywed wife and begin a relationship with 16-year-old Jeanne Reboul, with whom he had two children before his divorce was finalized. These and other issues strained the relationship between Michel and his father, but by the time Jules died in 1905 relations between them had improved, and they had collaborated with some stories.

Michel was in charge of publishing many of his father's last manuscripts, and it is rumoured that Michel may have written some of them himself. Works previously attributed to Jules Verne but now considered to have been written by Michel include The Lighthouse at the End of the World, The Golden Volcano (in two parts, Claim On Forty Mile Creek and Flood and Flame) and The Thompson Travel Agency. Michel Verne wrote in a similar genre to his father, and was considered by his father to be a good writer, but his works are now generally considered to be inferior to those of his father.

Michel Verne died from stomach and throat cancer on 5 March 1925 at age 63 in Toulon.