The Lottery Ticket

Jules Verne’s “The Lottery Ticket” is a story about a message in a bottle with a twist. Hulda Hansen’s husband-to-be Ole embarks on a journey with a fishing boat with the hope to get rich and provide for his future family. However Ole never returns. The only thing left of him is a bottle with a note to Hulda and … a lottery ticket. Is it a winning one? What will Hulda win and is it going to be worth it if Ole is really dead? Verne masterfully weaves conflict, intrigue, and a strange chain of events around something as small as a piece of paper.

Jules Verne (1828 – 1905) was a French author, whose works are thought to have seen the beginnings of the science-fiction genre. During his career, Verne wrote more than 60 novels, 54 of which were part of the ‘Extraordinary Voyages’ series. Many f his famous works have been adapted for film and television, including ‘The Invisible Man,’ starring Elizabeth Moss,’20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,’ starring James Mason, and ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth,’ starring Brendan Fraser.