Jules Verne's classic science fiction novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, published in 1870, tells the story of the fictional Captain Nemo and his submarine, the Nautilus. It was serialised in Pierre-Jules Hetzel's Magasin d'éducation et de récréation and included 111 illustrations. The novel is widely acclaimed and is regarded as one of Verne's greatest works. Its depiction of the Nautilus was ahead of its time and was likely inspired by the French submarine Plongeur, which was at the 1867 Exposition Universelle.
Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."
First proper sci-fi book I’ve ever read and it’s a masterpiece. To say it still feels contemporary 150 years after its first publication is the highest compliment I can give