Mam nadzieję, że nie za późno...:
Jules Verne(1828-1905), +a literary figure+ often overlooked by English critics, was a prolific writer whose work combined *-a-* /skreślam/ vivid imagination with a gift for popularizing science and travel.
/trochę i tak zbyt "natkane" to zdanie, IMO, i chyba wolałbym je widzieć jako 2 krótsze, szczególnie że ta wstawka o krytykach jest trochę niezapowiedziana, skutkiem czego dla mnie z lekka zgrzyta, ale teraz może być/
His famous books, like e.g. /masło maślane: wybierz like albo e.g./ ' *A* Journey to Centre of the Earth' are *-the-* classics of THE nineteenth-century French literature.
On 24 May 1863, Otto Lindenbrock, *a* well known professor at the Johannaeum, discovers an ancient parchment bearing *-a-* mysterious, cryptic maps. That +strange+ document*-s-*, written in Latin by AN *I*celandic alchemist of the sixteenth century, initiates *a* fascinating but dangerous journey to the centre of the earth. With his nephew Axel, THE *p*rofessor travels to Iceland, where +their expedition IS JOINED BY AN *I*celandic guide +named+ Hans.+
Their voyage begins on the summit of +Mount Sneffels+ and takes them down trough an extinct volcano and secret passages.
/IMO, to zdanie prosi się o zakończenie: dokąd. Wiem, że już to określiłaś, ale tak trochę wygląda na urwane. Może:
.. secret passages, deeper and deeper towards the core of the planet./
The *company of three* +go through+ a lot of hazardous adventures. Only thanks to Hans they don't die of thirst. +The+ brave guide turns out TO BE *a* helpful friend. His courage and experience save +their lives+ +many times+. +One such particular situation is+ when they discover*-ed-* /jedność czasu/ a desolate /?? przecież zamieszkane/ underground sea populated by prehistoric marine monsters and cRoss it by raft. +Another time+, during *a* storm, they experience +true+ horror AS they +struggle against+ the +dreadful+ downpOur and their OWN +weakness+. +It is not the frist time that+ THE courageous travellers +are prone to think about their excursion as of a journey of no return+
/oryginalne zdanie było bardzo niejasne, wręcz błędne. zmieniłem też początek, który byłby chyba zbyt bombastyczny, ale i wówczas musiałby raczej wyglądać tak: Not for the first time did the courageous travellers.../
But finally, THE journey to centre of the earth*-,-* +ends with+ success and creates a tremendous sensation all over the world. After *a* three-month-long trip, +the expedition of Professor Lindenbrock and his companions+ +returns+ to the surface +through+ another active volcano, about three thousand miles from Sneffels, ... on Sicily.
I think*-,-* I HAVE discovered for myself the reason why Verne is still read by milions today. He had *an*/*this* unusual (lub: remarkable) talent for writing so grippingly about THE excitement of exploration and discovery. I have read 'A Journey to the Centre of the Earth' with *much* pleasure and aDmiration, +and I consider it an exceptional specimen of the art of writing+. This book is very interesting, excites imagination and invites to dreaming.