A hundred and fifty years ago, in 1864, Jules Verne published the science-fiction masterpiece, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, and took his readers on a rousing adventure full of volcanoes, close calls, and a land that time forgot deep in the heart of the planet. There have been many adaptations of that story over the years in many different forms. It is a story that, even a hundred and fifty years later, has not ceased to grasp hold of the imagination.
When creating the audiodrama I wished to do justice to the book, changing as little as possible. I went directly to the source material and I have tried to be true to it. The characters, as I wrote, came alive in my mind. Professor Liedenbrock – brilliant, eccentric, and a force of nature not at all intimidated by the scale of the adventure he was determined to undertake. Axel – scholar of Latin and hopeful lover of Grauben, quite happy to stay safely in his home yet dragged along by his Uncle. Hans, their guide and the rock upon whom they leaned upon and without whom they certainly would have failed. We traveled through crystal caverns, got lost with Axel, walked through a forest of mushrooms, evaded leviathans on an inner sea, and shot to the surface on the fiery breath of a volcano. Down they went, to the center of the earth, and, I hope through my audiodrama adaptation, that I will manage to take you with me.
I claim no credit. All the credit goes to Jules Verne who, a hundred and fifty years ago took us on many Extraordinary Voyayes. Through him we adventured Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea with Captain Nemo. We raced Around the World in Eighty Days with Phileas Fogg. We were shot From the Earth to the Moon with Michel Ardan. And, we followed Axel, Liedenbrock, and Hans on their epic Journey to the Center of The Earth. Thank you, Jules Verne, and bravo, sir!
– Elaine Barrett
