«Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea» — the second book of the «Captain Nemo Trilogy». The writer continues to introduce readers to new characters, describing their amazing adventures in the depths of the sea. Jules Verne created a twisted plot, confronting the heroes with the mysterious captain and his remarkable «Nautilus», ahead of its time. All illustrations are made by the master of book graphics, Pyotr Lugansky, an artist who beautifully conveys the captivating story with pen and brush.
The novel «Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea» was written by Jules Verne just a year after «The Children of Captain Grant» — in 1869. Like the first novel of the famous trilogy, united by common characters, it was published in parts in the pages of the magazine published in Paris by the famous publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel. In 1870, «Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea» was released as a separate book. The history of the creation of submarines had been at least two and a half centuries old by this time, however, these constructions could not be compared at all with the miracle of engineering that Jules Verne described in his novel. Even modern atomic submarines are still far from his «Nautilus». However, the success of the writer's novels was due not only to bold futuristic pictures. They are characterized by a dynamic plot. In the writer's works, brave and noble heroes act, and such people, appearing in every new generation, always evoke admiration. This is the secret to the success of Jules Verne’s works even today. It is no coincidence that at the end of his life, Jules Verne not only gained fame as a pioneer of science fiction but also became a classic of adventure literature. In the difficult post-war years, when our country was rebuilding after the bloody war with fascist Germany, an unfamiliar and enticing world vividly opened up before domestic readers of Jules Verne’s adventure novels. It featured brave heroes and tireless pioneers who made their way through dense jungles, crossed mountain passes, sailed the seas on sailing ships, and even plunged into the depths of the ocean. All these mesmerizing scenes could be seen firsthand thanks to the talent of the remarkable illustrator Pyotr Ivanovich Lugansky, whose illustrations adorn this edition. Where and how did he explore the nature he drew? Did he sit in archives? Did he study drawings of sailing ships? Did he leaf through old albums? It is unlikely that these questions can be answered confidently now. Perhaps, Lugansky simply had a powerful creative imagination that allowed him to accurately reproduce images of a life he had never seen in person? The artist did not leave the borders of Soviet Russia. Before the war, he graduated from the oldest art school in Kharkiv, which is now called the State Academy of Design and Arts. During the war with fascist Germany, Pyotr Lugansky fought in a rifle division on the Leningrad front, where he was severely wounded. In Leningrad, he left behind a wife and a young daughter, Yulia. He kept her album of drawings until his death in 1993.
