In 1879, Verne's publisher Hetzel had asked him to look at a manuscript of a priest who was a protege. Initially, Verne did not think much of it. He wrote to Hetzel "The novel, if that is what it is, is a complete dud. There is absolutely no action, no struggle, and consequently no interest in it. The abbe gets all excited about his new torpedo thing, but I'll be hanged if we ever see it work." However, as a favor to Hetzel, Verne agreed to rewrite the novel, and soon became intrigued with its possibilities. By keeping the characters fairly simple and basic, he underscored the elemental differences between the bellicose German and the humanitarian Frenchman. Turning the story into a satirical fantasy, he could exaggerate certain features to make a point. The plot is fantastic, but it becomes plausible once the underlying premise is accepted.

The contrast...