FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON was Verne's first novel. It documents an apocryphal jaunt across the continent of Africa in a hydrogen balloon designed by the omniscient, imperturbable and ever-capable Dr Fergusson, the prototype of the Vernian cerebral adventurer. The story gives readers a glimpse of the exploration of Africa, which was not completely known to Europeans of the time, with explorers travelling all over the continent in search of its secrets. Finding the source of the Nile, rescuing missionaries and avoiding flocks of condors all feature in this unparalleled adventure.