The Village in the Treetops by Jules Verne

One of the least popular books by Jules Verne, originally published in 1901, but was only translated and published in English for the first time in 1964. Original title in French is Le Village aérien.

The Village in the Treetops is a response to the contemporary discussions surrounding Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and the quest for the "missing link." It is set in the most remote part of central Africa and is largely an adventure story of two friends, a Frenchman and an American, with their companions.

If I was to say more about the plot, I would ruin it for the potential readers. It's not quite action packed but the adventure, during which our heroes are forced to adapt and overcome endless obstacles, in a deep forest, is described in great detail. From a scientific point of view it is very outdated, but provides an interesting view onto the Anthropological views, both physical and cultural, that prevailed in the beginning of the 20th century. Apes and monkeys are described unrealistically. The novel is also very politically incorrect, which is probably one of the reasons why it's so unknown.

One of the surprising and interesting philosophical ideas presented by Verne's heroes is that humanity is set apart from the rest of the Animal Kingdom by belief in God. There are numerous discussions between the characters on what it means to be part of the mankind. Jules Verne was always on the cutting edge of science, thus, we may infer, that the views of this novel were shared by the cutting edge scientists and intellectuals in 1900.