Around the World in Eighty Days.

A famously punctual Englishman makes an outrageous bet at his London club and walks out that same evening to circle the entire world, his fortune and his reputation riding on the ticking of a watch.

What it's about

Phileas Fogg is a man of iron routine who wagers half his money that he can travel around the globe in eighty days, and sets out at once with his newly hired French valet, Passepartout. Jules Verne sends them careering across continents by every conveyance the age of steam can offer, through India and Hong Kong, across the Pacific and the American plains, dogged all the while by a detective convinced that Fogg is a fleeing bank robber. Delays, rescues and unexpected detours pile up, and every lost hour threatens the whole enterprise.

Themes

The book is a celebration of the shrinking world of the nineteenth century, of the timetables and technologies that suddenly made the planet feel encircleable. Beneath the adventure runs a quiet study of character: Fogg's unflappable precision, Passepartout's warm impulsiveness, and the way genuine feeling breaks through even the most ordered of lives.

Why it still matters

More than a century on, Verne's globe-trotting race remains the template for every against-the-clock adventure. Its wit, its momentum and its affectionate curiosity about the wider world have kept it in print and in the imagination, endlessly adapted and never quite surpassed.

Who it's for

A joy for readers of any age who love adventure, travel and a story that never sits still. Perfect for those discovering Verne for the first time and for anyone who wants pure, propulsive storytelling with a beating heart underneath.

Sources and references

Verified references for this edition: Open Library.