10 h 28 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 28 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Above Africa, three companions trust their lives to a balloon, careful reasoning, and a dwindling supply of gas.
Doctor Samuel Fergusson has a daring plan: cross Africa from east to west by balloon. His friend Dick Kennedy doubts the scheme but refuses to let him go alone. Joe, Fergusson’s cheerful servant, brings complete faith and quick wits. From Zanzibar, they rise in the Victoria, leaving solid ground behind for a journey at the mercy of the wind.
In Five Weeks in a Balloon, Jules Verne brings science into the thick of adventure. Lakes, rivers, deserts, and wildlife pass below the basket, while storms and thirst put the travellers at risk. Fergusson trusts knowledge to carry them through, but gas is limited. Alongside the danger and jokes, the story reveals nineteenth-century European views of exploration, including the colonial attitudes of its time.
What you’ll discover
- A daring invention Explore the Victoria, whose layered design and gas heater turn scientific ideas into adventure.
- Three very different companions Meet a calm scientist, a doubtful hunter, and a resourceful servant who face danger together.
- Geography beneath the basket Follow lakes and rivers as Fergusson considers the great puzzle of the Nile’s source.
- Danger with no firm ground Feel the tension as storms, thirst, and limited gas test the travellers’ courage and judgment.
- Friendship under pressure Enjoy companions who bicker, joke, and save each other when careful plans meet real danger.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy adventure built on real maps, bold machines, quick jokes and loyal friendship will feel at home here. It also suits anyone curious about early African exploration and the dream of flight.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A single word wins over a doubting London
- Dick Kennedy is dragged into the plan
- The doctor's secret makes the balloon obey
- Zanzibar cannot stop the Victoria rising
- A storm, an elephant and a lake lead to the Nile
- A dying priest rests in a hill of gold
- The desert tests the travelers to the limit
- Friendship matters more than any machine
- Science and Providence share the same basket
- Verne tells the tale with jokes and facts
Who’s who
- Dr. Samuel FergusonA calm English explorer and scientist who plans to cross Africa by balloon and trusts both his calculations and Providence.
- Dick KennedyA Scottish hunter and superb rifle shot who is Ferguson's oldest friend and swears he will never fly, yet cannot let him go alone.
- JoeFerguson's cheerful servant, strong, nimble and keen-eyed, who believes his master is always right and finds every danger natural.
- Sir Francis MThe president of the Royal Geographical Society, who praises Ferguson's plan to a cheering hall and helps raise the money.
- Captain BennettThe friendly commander of the Resolute, a man of science who carries the balloon to Zanzibar and wishes the travelers well.
- PetermannA German geographer in Gotha who knows Ferguson, defends him against the doubters and supplies the maps that guide the journey.
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Cinq semaines en ballon
by Jules Verne · 1863
A Scottish hunter, a loyal servant and a calm doctor drift over Africa in a balloon, with no map of the winds ahead.
Medium level10–20 hours to readfrançais
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In short
Picture a hall in London in January 1862. A crowd is cheering a man who has said only one word, Excelsior.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A single word wins over a doubting London
On January 14, 1862, the Royal Geographical Society in London hears its president praise a plan to cross Africa by air. The crowd votes to raise two thousand five hundred pounds. Then the man himself walks in. Dr. Samuel Ferguson raises one finger and says Excelsior, and the uproar drowns the president's speech.
Ferguson is about forty, calm and sturdy. His father, a naval captain, taught him geography, physics and mechanics. Since then he has crossed India, Australia and the Arctic. He would rather discover than debate, and he trusts himself and Providence in equal measure.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 8 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1863
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 6 h 45 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Verne, Jules. Five Weeks in a Balloon. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/five-weeks-in-a-balloon.
Verne, J. (2026). Five weeks in a balloon. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/five-weeks-in-a-balloon (Original work published 1863)
Verne, Jules. Five Weeks in a Balloon. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/five-weeks-in-a-balloon.
@book{verne2026five,
author = {Verne, Jules},
title = {Five Weeks in a Balloon},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/five-weeks-in-a-balloon},
note = {First published 1863}
}
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What is Five Weeks in a Balloon about?
It follows Dr. Samuel Ferguson, the hunter Dick Kennedy and the servant Joe as they try to cross Africa from east to west in a balloon, meeting storms, deserts, strange peoples and danger along the way.
Is Five Weeks in a Balloon a true story?
No, the three travelers and their balloon are invented, and Verne published the novel in 1863. But he built it on real explorers, real maps and real reports, so many places and people in it are genuine.
How does Dr. Ferguson steer the balloon?
He cannot steer sideways. Instead he heats the hydrogen to rise and lets it cool to sink, then seeks a favorable air current, conserving gas except when circumstances require its release.
The author
Jules Verne
1828–1905 · French adventure novelist
Jules Verne was a French writer born in Nantes in 1828. He lived in Paris and later in Amiens, where he died in 1905. His novels include Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).
More by Jules Verne
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