Combining romance and adventure, ‘The Blockade Runners’ is set in both Scotland and the south of America, as the American Civil War looks to become a reality. Scottish entrepreneur, Captain James Playfair, sets out on a daring mission to acquire cotton from the southern states. However, there’s more to one of his travelling companions than meets the eye and Playfair quickly finds himself facing a whole new set of challenges. A rollicking read, Verne peppers this short story with vivid details about each of the destinations our protagonist encounters. Jules Verne (1828-1905) was a French novelist who became known as the ‘Father of Science Fiction.’ He wrote more than 60 novels, including ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ (1864), ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’ (1870) which was also released as a film, starring James Mason, and ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ (1873), which has been released as a TV drama, featuring former Dr Who star, David Tennant.