Under the Sea
by Jules Verne
Jules Verne wrote 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
in 1870. The narrator is Pierre Aronnax, a French
marine biologist, who has been taken prisoner by
Captain Nemo in his submarine called Nautilus.
This passage describes the submarine’s library.
Chapter X: The Man of the Seas
It was a library. High pieces of furniture, of black
violet ebony inlaid with brass, supported upon their
wide shelves a great number of books uniformly
bound. They followed the shape of the room, terminating at the lower part in huge
divans, covered with brown leather, which were curved, to afford the greatest
comfort. Light movable desks, made to slide in and out at will, allowed one to
rest one’s book while reading. In the centre stood an immense table, covered with
pamphlets, amongst which were some newspapers, already of old date. The electric
light fl ooded everything; it was shed from four unpolished globes half sunk in the
volutes of the ceiling. I looked with real admiration at this room, so ingeniously
fi tted up, and I could scarcely believe my eyes