Soon after the publication in 1863 of the novel «Five Weeks in a Balloon», whose heroes crossed the African continent, Jules Verne sat down to write a new work. In it, brave pioneers were to again fight against dangers and perform incredible feats, discovering the unknown. This time, the writer decided to send new heroes to the North Pole. Instead of the hot expanses of Africa, they were awaited by endless lifeless northern ice fields. Such a choice by Jules Verne was understandable. The interest of the reading public in the North Pole in the mid-19th century was evident, as at that time this place for explorers of our planet was a kind of «white spot». The German scientist Peterman suggested that there existed an ice-free body of water around the North Pole. There were other assumptions about what awaited thediscoverers in this spot on the planet. Therefore, the volcano described by Verne, active among the ice, was perceived by readers as a quite possible assumption. After the expeditions of Frederick Cook and Robert Peary, who first reached the North Pole in the early 20th century, such a description was already regarded as fantastic; however, the novels of Jules Verne from the series «Extraordinary Voyages» were both scientific fiction and adventure works at the same time. The mutiny of the crew, the explosion of the ship, the attack of polar bears, survival in extreme conditions, unexpected plot twists - all this attracts readers to the novel even today.
The illustrations in this book were created by the remarkable artist Peter Ivanovich Lugansky. The future artist was born in 1911 in the Lugansk region. In Kharkov, he graduated from one of the oldest art educational institutions in Ukraine, and then began working at the Leningrad «Uchpedgiz». During the war with fascist Germany, Peter Ivanovich managed to draw portraits of his comrades. After victory, book design became his main creative endeavor. He collaborated with the magazine «Koster», drawing for the publishing houses «Detgiz» and «Leningrad». Lugansky illustrated «Two Captains» by Kaverin, «The Amphibian Man» by Belyaev, «Treasure Island» and «The Master of Ballantrae» by Stevenson, «The White Chief» by Mayne Reid. And yet, his favorite writer remained Jules Verne. Lugansky's illustrations are captivating in their authenticity. After all, in our imagination, this is precisely how jungles or bluish foothills of mountains on the horizon look. Lugansky is always accurate in depicting the costumes of Jules Verne's heroes or the rigging of sailing ships of the 19th century. Peter Ivanovich always approached his work very responsibly. His illustrations for Jules Verne's novels do not age.
