This 1864 science fiction novel tells the story of professor Otto Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel and their guide Hans as they encounter many adventures and hazards traveling through the center of the Earth (The English language edition which I'll be reading tonight changes the professor's name to Hardwigg and Axel's name to Harry). The book was inspired by Charles Lyell's "Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man" written in 1863. Although this genre of subterranean fiction already existed long before Verne, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" considerably added to the genre's popularity and influenced later such writings.