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Around the World in Eighty Days
Translated by George Makepeace Towle. Afterword by Peter Glassman. Barry Moser's sixteen exquisite watercolors capture Verne's beloved novel of suspense in this deluxe gift edition that will be treasured for years to come. A "handsome new edition...The translation is clear and sprightly."—New York Times Book Review.
Author Biography: Jules Verne (1828-1905) used a combination of scientific facts and his imagination to take readers on extraordinary imaginative journeys to fantastic places. In such books as Around the World in Eighty Days, From the Earth to the Moon, and Journey to the Center of the Earth, he predicted many technological advances of the twentieth century, including the invention of the automobile, telephone, and nuclear submarines, as well as atomic power and travel to the moon by rocket.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1872
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159940 people want to read
About the author
Jules Verne
6,333 books12k followersNovels of French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, considered the founder of modern science fiction, include
Journey to the Center of the Earth
(1864) and
Around the World in Eighty Days
(1873).
This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
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."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...
This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
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."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 13,299 reviews
February 7, 2018
"Truly, would you not for less than that make a tour around the world?"
This is the second Verne book I have devoured in two days which have both been accredited four-five stars. I could end the review at that and I would be content!
Similar to The Journey to the Centre of the Earth which I read yesterday - Verne creates amazingly awesome and complex characters. The main protagonist Mr. Fogg is an obsessive-compulsive routine loving timekeeper who bets his chums at the club that he can travel around the world in 80 days, which a newspaper said was possible - if no delays were incurred. He is so deep, that so much is beneath the surface of this quiet, content gentleman. Never fearing or worrying whatever dilemmas are thrown in his path and always willing to fail the mission to help his friends. He is also very good at handling a boat. I have to ask - does anyone know if he has been in any of Verne's previous stories as it seems like he has an amazing past. If he hasn't been present and that is just what is built up by the writing in this book I am speechless.
His trusty French manservant is amazing too - Not for a long time have two characters been so three dimensional and have I truly cared about them so much in 200 or so pages. This dude is clever, he worries like he is always ruining the plan but he is very loyal, apt gymnast and sometimes a lifesaver.
Other characters Fix (a stalking policeman) and Aouda (a rescued Indian damsel) are amazingly created colourful characters too.
I don't want to say too much of the story but it takes places all over the world. London, China, India, Japan, HK, America, Liverpool amongst others. Full of amazing set pieces that whilst being gripping always bring a smile to your face. Traveling on an elephant to rescue a lady due to be burnt to the death, fighting bandits on railway lines in the US are just a couple of these many amazing incidents. I was expecting a scene with a hot air balloon which I see in all the film version advertisements which (spoiler) is not in the book.
I do think that later I am going to watch the Steve Coogan /Jackie Chan version of this to see how it compares.
Once again my Goodreads friends, this was free on Kindle/Amazon. Check it out.
Love as always. James x
www.youandibooks.wordpress.com
This is the second Verne book I have devoured in two days which have both been accredited four-five stars. I could end the review at that and I would be content!
Similar to The Journey to the Centre of the Earth which I read yesterday - Verne creates amazingly awesome and complex characters. The main protagonist Mr. Fogg is an obsessive-compulsive routine loving timekeeper who bets his chums at the club that he can travel around the world in 80 days, which a newspaper said was possible - if no delays were incurred. He is so deep, that so much is beneath the surface of this quiet, content gentleman. Never fearing or worrying whatever dilemmas are thrown in his path and always willing to fail the mission to help his friends. He is also very good at handling a boat. I have to ask - does anyone know if he has been in any of Verne's previous stories as it seems like he has an amazing past. If he hasn't been present and that is just what is built up by the writing in this book I am speechless.
His trusty French manservant is amazing too - Not for a long time have two characters been so three dimensional and have I truly cared about them so much in 200 or so pages. This dude is clever, he worries like he is always ruining the plan but he is very loyal, apt gymnast and sometimes a lifesaver.
Other characters Fix (a stalking policeman) and Aouda (a rescued Indian damsel) are amazingly created colourful characters too.
I don't want to say too much of the story but it takes places all over the world. London, China, India, Japan, HK, America, Liverpool amongst others. Full of amazing set pieces that whilst being gripping always bring a smile to your face. Traveling on an elephant to rescue a lady due to be burnt to the death, fighting bandits on railway lines in the US are just a couple of these many amazing incidents. I was expecting a scene with a hot air balloon which I see in all the film version advertisements which (spoiler) is not in the book.
I do think that later I am going to watch the Steve Coogan /Jackie Chan version of this to see how it compares.
Once again my Goodreads friends, this was free on Kindle/Amazon. Check it out.
Love as always. James x
www.youandibooks.wordpress.com
January 25, 2022
Some people will tell you this book is not an adventure, and is in fact boring. But that's not true.
If your definition of "adventure" includes more to-the-minute scheduling than it does hijinks, you will find this book action-packed. And if your idea of a good climactic fight scene involves the entire thing taking place off-page, you're in luck too.
Some people will tell you that there's only one female character in this book, and she's extremely flat. But that's not fair, either.
Every character in this book is flat. It's not a misogyny thing.
And some people will tell you this book is slow-paced and weird. But they're forgetting something important.
This was published in 1874, and at the time watching a short film that involved a moving vehicle was enough to strike fear into the hearts of war veterans. Getting your picture taken was a harrowing experience that involved a solid chance the camera would eat your soul.
By these accurate standards, this is actually a surprisingly quick read for being 150 years old. I'll just say I'm glad I'm alive now, and not then.
And also that if someone roofied me with opium and made me miss my boat, causing a series of events that led to me wandering starved through Japan without money or knowledge of the language, ultimately forcing me to attempt to join an acrobatic troupe due to lack of options, I personally would not be their friend.
But Jules Verne characters are built different.
Bottom line: Yet another installment of my Buying Classics For Their Covers And Then Not Enjoying Them series. Another coming later today.
-----------------
pre-review
they just don't write adventure stories like this one anymore!
and that's a good thing.
review to come / 2.5 stars
-----------------
currently-reading updates
anytime i read a classic just because people say it's a must-read, i call it "assigning myself homework"
clear ur sh*t book 61
no quest, just seeing how many more i can finish
If your definition of "adventure" includes more to-the-minute scheduling than it does hijinks, you will find this book action-packed. And if your idea of a good climactic fight scene involves the entire thing taking place off-page, you're in luck too.
Some people will tell you that there's only one female character in this book, and she's extremely flat. But that's not fair, either.
Every character in this book is flat. It's not a misogyny thing.
And some people will tell you this book is slow-paced and weird. But they're forgetting something important.
This was published in 1874, and at the time watching a short film that involved a moving vehicle was enough to strike fear into the hearts of war veterans. Getting your picture taken was a harrowing experience that involved a solid chance the camera would eat your soul.
By these accurate standards, this is actually a surprisingly quick read for being 150 years old. I'll just say I'm glad I'm alive now, and not then.
And also that if someone roofied me with opium and made me miss my boat, causing a series of events that led to me wandering starved through Japan without money or knowledge of the language, ultimately forcing me to attempt to join an acrobatic troupe due to lack of options, I personally would not be their friend.
But Jules Verne characters are built different.
Bottom line: Yet another installment of my Buying Classics For Their Covers And Then Not Enjoying Them series. Another coming later today.
-----------------
pre-review
they just don't write adventure stories like this one anymore!
and that's a good thing.
review to come / 2.5 stars
-----------------
currently-reading updates
anytime i read a classic just because people say it's a must-read, i call it "assigning myself homework"
clear ur sh*t book 61
no quest, just seeing how many more i can finish
July 9, 2024
Challenge and adventure… The concept of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days is one of the most original in literature… The tale is entertaining and chivalric…
By hook or by crook the goal must be achieved… By steamship or by elephant… No matter what, move forward!
The books of our childhood stay with us for life.
By hook or by crook the goal must be achieved… By steamship or by elephant… No matter what, move forward!
The elephant was led in and got ready without delay. The Parsee knew the job of mahout, or elephant driver, inside out. He covered the elephant’s back with a sort of saddle-cloth and set up, one on each side of the animal’s flanks, two rather uncomfortable-looking baskets.
Phileas Fogg paid the Indian in banknotes, which came out of his famous bag. It really looked as if they were being surgically removed from Passepartout’s insides!
The books of our childhood stay with us for life.
September 9, 2020
Well... So I do believe I saved a book's life. About to be tossed away, being a pariah of the garage sale variety, I not only took it home; I ...READ it. Aglow with endearing cliches, this is the source of plenty of adventure stories, many of which are films, comics, etc.
Verne's imagination is grand & the plot is silly and almost kid-like. But absurd it ain't. It is fun exactly because there is a topsy turvy madness to visiting places just to prove a point. It is fun because it is rife with interesting observations, factoids, themes that in Verne's day were barely in development. There is romance, the plot is thick with well... things happening, a ticking clock looms a large shadow, and a velocity is masterfully established that seems almost incredibly doable--the reader wants to experience this. (Airplanes suck ass anyway!)
Verne's imagination is grand & the plot is silly and almost kid-like. But absurd it ain't. It is fun exactly because there is a topsy turvy madness to visiting places just to prove a point. It is fun because it is rife with interesting observations, factoids, themes that in Verne's day were barely in development. There is romance, the plot is thick with well... things happening, a ticking clock looms a large shadow, and a velocity is masterfully established that seems almost incredibly doable--the reader wants to experience this. (Airplanes suck ass anyway!)
September 24, 2017
"Mum, could we travel the world in the same way that Phileas Fogg and Passepartout did?"
The question propels me back in time, about three decades. This was the first Jules Verne book I read. I carried it home in a heavy school bag, in the darkness after an winter afternoon in the public library. I was ten, and I had to fill my long evenings, which started at sun set around half past two. I still remember the smell of the book, picked from the "Classics for children" section, and how I opened it and started reading. I knew almost nothing of Victorian England, of travelling to exotic countries, of the honour connected to a wager, of foul play or of religious customs in other cultures or of nature's peculiarities in different geographical areas.
According to my memory, I finished the story that same evening, and went back to the library the very next day to check out the entire stock of Jules Verne. I might be wrong, knowing the strange turns memory takes when something is considered of special importance. It might have been two or three days later. It is a fact, though, that I read all of his novels that dark winter, one after the other, completely enthralled, completely lost in the storytelling.
And as fast as I was captured, I was released again. I had that Jules Verne spell, I loved it, but I never looked back. I was done. Jules Verne made me realise the potential of books, helped me open the treasure chest of world literature, and he served as a bridge to ever bigger journeys around the literary world. I like to imagine that my journey around Jules Verne's universe took about 80 reading sessions, and that I returned the books to the library so much more enthusiastic about the world of reading that I was ready for my life as a reader.
Afterwards I instinctively felt that those books should remain in my childhood, that I might find things in them I would find ludicrous or horrible now. But the initiation rite of reading Verne when I was an impressionable ten-year-old will always be a memory of great importance to me.
And of course I enjoy each minute my children spend with Jules Verne. More routined globetrotters than I was, they ask different questions, and reflect more on the radically changed technology and knowledge since the time of Phileas Fogg, whereas I had difficulties understanding the cultural codes in the world - which my children recognise directly from long experience in international schools.
The main plot remains exciting, and the cheesy conclusion is as rewarding as any modern "happy end" could be:
"But what then? What had he really gained by all this trouble? What had he brought back from this long and weary journey?
Nothing, you say? Perhaps so; nothing but a charming woman, who, strange as it may appear, made him the happiest of men!
Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour around the world?"
As for the question my son asked - I think it would be difficult, not to say impossible, to replicate the journey exactly like that, given the geopolitical and technological changes in the world. Luckily, we still have the option to travel with Fogg and Passepartout!
The question propels me back in time, about three decades. This was the first Jules Verne book I read. I carried it home in a heavy school bag, in the darkness after an winter afternoon in the public library. I was ten, and I had to fill my long evenings, which started at sun set around half past two. I still remember the smell of the book, picked from the "Classics for children" section, and how I opened it and started reading. I knew almost nothing of Victorian England, of travelling to exotic countries, of the honour connected to a wager, of foul play or of religious customs in other cultures or of nature's peculiarities in different geographical areas.
According to my memory, I finished the story that same evening, and went back to the library the very next day to check out the entire stock of Jules Verne. I might be wrong, knowing the strange turns memory takes when something is considered of special importance. It might have been two or three days later. It is a fact, though, that I read all of his novels that dark winter, one after the other, completely enthralled, completely lost in the storytelling.
And as fast as I was captured, I was released again. I had that Jules Verne spell, I loved it, but I never looked back. I was done. Jules Verne made me realise the potential of books, helped me open the treasure chest of world literature, and he served as a bridge to ever bigger journeys around the literary world. I like to imagine that my journey around Jules Verne's universe took about 80 reading sessions, and that I returned the books to the library so much more enthusiastic about the world of reading that I was ready for my life as a reader.
Afterwards I instinctively felt that those books should remain in my childhood, that I might find things in them I would find ludicrous or horrible now. But the initiation rite of reading Verne when I was an impressionable ten-year-old will always be a memory of great importance to me.
And of course I enjoy each minute my children spend with Jules Verne. More routined globetrotters than I was, they ask different questions, and reflect more on the radically changed technology and knowledge since the time of Phileas Fogg, whereas I had difficulties understanding the cultural codes in the world - which my children recognise directly from long experience in international schools.
The main plot remains exciting, and the cheesy conclusion is as rewarding as any modern "happy end" could be:
"But what then? What had he really gained by all this trouble? What had he brought back from this long and weary journey?
Nothing, you say? Perhaps so; nothing but a charming woman, who, strange as it may appear, made him the happiest of men!
Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour around the world?"
As for the question my son asked - I think it would be difficult, not to say impossible, to replicate the journey exactly like that, given the geopolitical and technological changes in the world. Luckily, we still have the option to travel with Fogg and Passepartout!
July 9, 2025
It had been a long time since I had read an adventure by Jules Verne. It is, of course, to place in the historical context of the 19th century. The adventures of Phileas Fogg were intended to introduce readers to the world's diversity. It was. Additionally, it appears to showcase British power and hegemony, which was then the world's first power, as well as the discovery of new means of transportation. This fact made it possible to travel worldwide quickly, such as through the steam navy or the transcontinental railways. We do not get bored for a second, and the adventures of our companions are still as hectic a century and a half later. Jules Verne remains a staple of the adventure novel.
August 25, 2023
I had to re-read this unabridged title for a rapid reading exam for my students and it was an enjoyable process.
I’ve always enjoyed this classic by Jules Verne and ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ will always receive 5 stars from me! I’ve read this book several times and it still has the power to keep me hooked even after all these years.
The story of Phileas Fogg and his journey around the world is one of the best early science fiction stories that I’ve ever read. Fogg’s role as a protagonist captured my heart in 1998 when I read this book for the first time at school. I tried to imitate or rather mimic his calm and composed demeanour back then, but I was not successful. As the days go by, I’ve realized that I was and am more of a Passepartout than a Fogg.
The book is evergreen, enchanting, and has that magic to it that can never go stale. My favourite scene will always be when Fogg, Passepartout, and the Parsee elephant rider saves Aouda from death in the jungles of India. Another scene which I have always highly appreciated is the ending when Aouda expresses her love for Fogg and the discovery of Passepartout as he goes out to engage a priest for their wedding.
I feel this classic can really be used as an excellent educational tool to teach Geography at schools, especially when the chapter about latitudes and longitudes are being focussed upon. When I learnt this topic for the first time in 1998, my Geography teacher at school encouraged us to read this classic and it stuck in our heads forever.
Certain racist remarks are evident in the text, but that was probably because of the mindset of the author and his ignorance about places like India which celebrates unity in diversity right from the B.C. period. This should not deter the reader from reading this classic. In fact, students can especially use these inconsistencies to research upon and to discuss the actual facts of the country or countries in a calm, dignified, and organized manner at school.
I prefer Verne to Wells, though Wells was more eclectic, intelligent, creative, and eccentric an author compared to the former. The reason for my preference is simple – if there was no Verne, there would have been no Wells, and that is something that young readers should also keep in mind while they are studying this text. This book was a pleasant journey down memory lane for me – fantastic as always!
May 24, 2025
Around the year 1870, there was much discussion of the idea that a sufficiently determined world traveller could traverse the entire globe with hitherto unimaginable speed. Such discussions engaged the interest of Jules Verne, a writer who was always interested in the ways in which human beings’ scientific endeavours were changing the world – and the ultimate result was Around the World in Eighty Days (1872). This novel caused a sensation in Verne’s time, and with its emphasis on adventure and ingenuity, it may be the most characteristically “Vernian” of all Jules Verne’s works.
The novel begins with Phileas Fogg, a phlegmatic English gentleman who is a member of London’s Reform Club, offering a bet in the context of a conversation about the speed of global travel. In response to the skepticism of some of his fellow club members, Phileas Fogg states that “I bet £20,000 against anyone that I will go around the world in eighty days or less – in other words, 1,920 hours or 115,200 minutes.” Five members of the Reform Club take the bet, and it is a substantial one – for £20,000 in 1872 would be the equivalent of £2.3 million, or about $3 million (U.S.), today. Phileas Fogg is staking his entire fortune on this 80-days business.
As he sets forth on the settling of this wager, Phileas Fogg has some things going for him and other things going against him. The good news is that Phileas Fogg has a new servant – a Frenchman named Passepartout. The two are well-matched: where Fogg is detached and unemotional, Passepartout is passionate and engaged; Fogg is an intellectual, and Passepartout an athletic man of action. Passepartout is truly the perfect travel companion for Phileas Fogg’s journey.
The bad news, by contrast, is that Phileas Fogg is unjustly suspected, by a police detective named Fix, of having robbed the Bank of England. Fix has the intellectual inflexibility of the Prefect of Police from Edgar Allan Poe’s Parisian mystery stories, combined with the unflinching determination and drive of Inspector Javert from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables (1862). Fix, ever in search of an arrest warrant he can use against Phileas Fogg at some point when Fogg is on British soil, will be a constant companion, and foil, throughout the travellers’ journey.
The intended travel itinerary for Phileas Fogg and Passepartout is as follows:
• London to Suez, Egypt;
• Suez to Bombay, India;
• Across India from Bombay to Calcutta;
• Calcutta via Singapore to Hong Kong;
• Hong Kong to Yokohama, Japan;
• Yokohama to San Francisco, California, U.S.A.;
• Across the United States of America, from San Francisco to New York; and, finally,
• New York to London.
It all seems do-able, in accordance with Phileas Fogg’s gift for meticulous planning – but of course, a variety of things go wrong throughout the trip, making for plenty of moments of intrigue and fast-paced adventure.
In India, for instance, the travellers find, to their dismay, that there is actually a gap of unfinished railroad in the Trans-Indian Railway on which they were planning to cross the subcontinent. As the book’s narrator dryly puts it, “Newspapers are like certain watches that insist on being fast, and they had prematurely announced the completion of the line.” At first, Phileas Fogg insists that he will cross the subcontinent on foot, if need be, but then Passepartout has a suggestion:
“Sir, I think I’ve found a means of transport.”
“What sort?”
“An elephant! An elephant belonging to an Indian who lives only a hundred yards from here.”
“Let’s go and see the elephant,” replied Mr. Fogg.
A pattern is established here; as things go wrong, and the travellers are in danger of falling behind schedule, Phileas Fogg and Passepartout must repeatedly utilize their ingenuity and improvise new travel plans in order to stay on pace for completing his 80-day round-the-world voyage on time. Not only do they get across India on time, but they manage, in the process, to rescue a beautiful young Indian widow, one Mrs. Aouda, from being burned alive in the practice of sati.
I was glad that Mrs. Aouda was a presence in the novel. So often, Verne’s adventure novels are so male-dominated, with two or three guys having all the fun – Professor Otto Lidenbrock, Axel, and the Icelandic guide Hans in Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864); Professor Aronnax, Conseil, and the Canadian harpooner Ned Land in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870). About the best one can hope for in terms of women's agency, in these lads-only affairs, is that there will be a love interest – a pretty young woman back home, waiting with mingled pride and anxiety for the adventurer of her dreams to complete his journey. Mrs. Aouda, in Around the World in Eighty Days, humanizes the proceedings considerably – and one gets the sense that she is slowly but surely thawing out Phileas Fogg’s phlegmatic temperament.
Travel problems do, however, persist. At one point, for instance, Phileas Fogg finds himself stuck in Hong Kong – largely, though he does not know this, through the machinations of Fix, who has separated Passepartout from the rest of the group by taking him to an opium den (!), and is hoping that his long-overdue arrest warrant will arrive in British-held Hong Kong, enabling him at last to arrest Phileas Fogg. The ship for Yokohama has left early, meaning that Phileas Fogg’s prospects for completing the voyage on time seem lost.
But Fogg once again seizes the opportunity to find a new way forward toward recommencing the seemingly lost Yokohama-to-San Francisco stage of his voyage, through a chance encounter with a sailor in Hong Kong’s outer harbour:
“Is your honour after a boat?” the sailor said to him, taking his cap off.
“Do you have a boat ready to sail?” asked Mr. Fogg.
“Yes, your honour – a pilot boat: Number 43, the best of the whole lot.”
“Is it fast?”
“Between eight and nine knots, as near as makes no difference. Do you want to see it?”
“Yes.”
“Your honour couldn’t ask for more. Is it for a boat trip?”
“No, for a voyage.”
“A voyage?”
“Are you prepared to take me to Yokohama?”
The sailor couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. He just stood there, aghast.
“Your honour must be joking!” he said.
“No. I’ve missed the Carnatic and I must be in Yokohama by the 14th at the latest, to catch the steamer for San Francisco.”
“Sorry,” replied the sailor, “but it’s impossible.”
“I’m offering you £100 a day and a bonus of £200 if you get me there on time.”
“Are you serious?” asked the sailor.
“Deadly serious,” replied Mr. Fogg.
They get across the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco, and begin a train journey across the United States of America. The American railway, unlike its Indian counterpart, is actually complete from coast to coast, but there is still plenty of trouble awaiting the travellers, as Sioux warriors attack the transcontinental train. Passepartout detaches the locomotive from the passenger cars, and the passenger cars safely reach the Kearney station. But Passepartout and a couple of others, with the engine, fall into the hands of the Sioux.
Phileas Fogg at once expresses his determination to rescue Passepartout, even though “In making this decision Phileas Fogg was sacrificing everything. He had just condemned himself to financial ruin. A single day’s delay meant he would miss the steamer from New York. His bet was irretrievably lost. But at the thought of ‘this is my duty’ he had not hesitated.”
Phileas Fogg, in his plans to go and rescue Passepartout, asks Fix to look after Mrs. Aouda, leaving the police inspector feeling decidedly conflicted. “How could he let go of this man, whom he had followed so doggedly and with such persistence? How could he let him venture into the wilderness like this? Fix looked at the gentleman intently and despite himself, for all his feelings against Fogg and in spite of the struggle that was going on inside him, he felt uncomfortable when confronted with that calm and honest expression.”
And once Phileas Fogg and the U.S. Army detachment from Fort Kearney have indeed rescued Passepartout, it turns out that there is – once again – an alternate means of transportation, this time across across the frozen Northern plains:
It was a sort of frame built upon two long beams that were turned up at the end like the runners on a sledge, and there was room for about five or six people. A third of the way along the frame, to the front, stood a very tall mast, to which was attached a huge spanker sail. From this mast, which was firmly held in position by cables, stretched an iron stay, the purpose of which was to hoist a very large jib. At the rear a sort of oar-rudder enabled the contraption to be steered.
It was, as can be seen from this description, a sledge, but with the rigging of a sloop. In winter, on the ice-bound plain, when the trains are no longer running because of the snow, these vehicles travel very fast from station to station. What is more, they have an enormous expanse of sail – greater even than a racing cutter, which is liable to capsize – and with the wind behind them they glide along the surface of the prairies as fast if not faster than express trains.
One of the pre-eminent pleasures of Around the World in Eighty Days is looking on as Phileas Fogg, time after time, figures out a new way to continue with his voyage, once his original plans have not worked out. And the journey of this sail-sled across the snowy plains makes for some of the most exciting and fast-moving passages of the novel.
The resolution of the novel is probably not as surprising for readers nowadays as it was in 1872, but it is a fun denouement nonetheless. In an informative foreword to this Penguin Classics edition of Around the World in Eighty Days, science-fiction author and scholar Brian Aldiss reminds us that one can now go around the world in 55 hours (London Heathrow to Sydney to Los Angeles, and then back to Heathrow), whilst effectively setting what may have been Verne’s most popular adventure novel in the context of its time.
I have never travelled around the world as Phileas Fogg and Passepartout did; but I have now visited all of the countries mentioned in Verne’s novel. I’ve visited 85 countries so far, come to that. And as it was when I was a child of 10 or so, so it is now that I am in my sixties: Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingte jours remains one of the most delightful travel adventures ever set down.
The novel begins with Phileas Fogg, a phlegmatic English gentleman who is a member of London’s Reform Club, offering a bet in the context of a conversation about the speed of global travel. In response to the skepticism of some of his fellow club members, Phileas Fogg states that “I bet £20,000 against anyone that I will go around the world in eighty days or less – in other words, 1,920 hours or 115,200 minutes.” Five members of the Reform Club take the bet, and it is a substantial one – for £20,000 in 1872 would be the equivalent of £2.3 million, or about $3 million (U.S.), today. Phileas Fogg is staking his entire fortune on this 80-days business.
As he sets forth on the settling of this wager, Phileas Fogg has some things going for him and other things going against him. The good news is that Phileas Fogg has a new servant – a Frenchman named Passepartout. The two are well-matched: where Fogg is detached and unemotional, Passepartout is passionate and engaged; Fogg is an intellectual, and Passepartout an athletic man of action. Passepartout is truly the perfect travel companion for Phileas Fogg’s journey.
The bad news, by contrast, is that Phileas Fogg is unjustly suspected, by a police detective named Fix, of having robbed the Bank of England. Fix has the intellectual inflexibility of the Prefect of Police from Edgar Allan Poe’s Parisian mystery stories, combined with the unflinching determination and drive of Inspector Javert from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables (1862). Fix, ever in search of an arrest warrant he can use against Phileas Fogg at some point when Fogg is on British soil, will be a constant companion, and foil, throughout the travellers’ journey.
The intended travel itinerary for Phileas Fogg and Passepartout is as follows:
• London to Suez, Egypt;
• Suez to Bombay, India;
• Across India from Bombay to Calcutta;
• Calcutta via Singapore to Hong Kong;
• Hong Kong to Yokohama, Japan;
• Yokohama to San Francisco, California, U.S.A.;
• Across the United States of America, from San Francisco to New York; and, finally,
• New York to London.
It all seems do-able, in accordance with Phileas Fogg’s gift for meticulous planning – but of course, a variety of things go wrong throughout the trip, making for plenty of moments of intrigue and fast-paced adventure.
In India, for instance, the travellers find, to their dismay, that there is actually a gap of unfinished railroad in the Trans-Indian Railway on which they were planning to cross the subcontinent. As the book’s narrator dryly puts it, “Newspapers are like certain watches that insist on being fast, and they had prematurely announced the completion of the line.” At first, Phileas Fogg insists that he will cross the subcontinent on foot, if need be, but then Passepartout has a suggestion:
“Sir, I think I’ve found a means of transport.”
“What sort?”
“An elephant! An elephant belonging to an Indian who lives only a hundred yards from here.”
“Let’s go and see the elephant,” replied Mr. Fogg.
A pattern is established here; as things go wrong, and the travellers are in danger of falling behind schedule, Phileas Fogg and Passepartout must repeatedly utilize their ingenuity and improvise new travel plans in order to stay on pace for completing his 80-day round-the-world voyage on time. Not only do they get across India on time, but they manage, in the process, to rescue a beautiful young Indian widow, one Mrs. Aouda, from being burned alive in the practice of sati.
I was glad that Mrs. Aouda was a presence in the novel. So often, Verne’s adventure novels are so male-dominated, with two or three guys having all the fun – Professor Otto Lidenbrock, Axel, and the Icelandic guide Hans in Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864); Professor Aronnax, Conseil, and the Canadian harpooner Ned Land in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870). About the best one can hope for in terms of women's agency, in these lads-only affairs, is that there will be a love interest – a pretty young woman back home, waiting with mingled pride and anxiety for the adventurer of her dreams to complete his journey. Mrs. Aouda, in Around the World in Eighty Days, humanizes the proceedings considerably – and one gets the sense that she is slowly but surely thawing out Phileas Fogg’s phlegmatic temperament.
Travel problems do, however, persist. At one point, for instance, Phileas Fogg finds himself stuck in Hong Kong – largely, though he does not know this, through the machinations of Fix, who has separated Passepartout from the rest of the group by taking him to an opium den (!), and is hoping that his long-overdue arrest warrant will arrive in British-held Hong Kong, enabling him at last to arrest Phileas Fogg. The ship for Yokohama has left early, meaning that Phileas Fogg’s prospects for completing the voyage on time seem lost.
But Fogg once again seizes the opportunity to find a new way forward toward recommencing the seemingly lost Yokohama-to-San Francisco stage of his voyage, through a chance encounter with a sailor in Hong Kong’s outer harbour:
“Is your honour after a boat?” the sailor said to him, taking his cap off.
“Do you have a boat ready to sail?” asked Mr. Fogg.
“Yes, your honour – a pilot boat: Number 43, the best of the whole lot.”
“Is it fast?”
“Between eight and nine knots, as near as makes no difference. Do you want to see it?”
“Yes.”
“Your honour couldn’t ask for more. Is it for a boat trip?”
“No, for a voyage.”
“A voyage?”
“Are you prepared to take me to Yokohama?”
The sailor couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. He just stood there, aghast.
“Your honour must be joking!” he said.
“No. I’ve missed the Carnatic and I must be in Yokohama by the 14th at the latest, to catch the steamer for San Francisco.”
“Sorry,” replied the sailor, “but it’s impossible.”
“I’m offering you £100 a day and a bonus of £200 if you get me there on time.”
“Are you serious?” asked the sailor.
“Deadly serious,” replied Mr. Fogg.
They get across the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco, and begin a train journey across the United States of America. The American railway, unlike its Indian counterpart, is actually complete from coast to coast, but there is still plenty of trouble awaiting the travellers, as Sioux warriors attack the transcontinental train. Passepartout detaches the locomotive from the passenger cars, and the passenger cars safely reach the Kearney station. But Passepartout and a couple of others, with the engine, fall into the hands of the Sioux.
Phileas Fogg at once expresses his determination to rescue Passepartout, even though “In making this decision Phileas Fogg was sacrificing everything. He had just condemned himself to financial ruin. A single day’s delay meant he would miss the steamer from New York. His bet was irretrievably lost. But at the thought of ‘this is my duty’ he had not hesitated.”
Phileas Fogg, in his plans to go and rescue Passepartout, asks Fix to look after Mrs. Aouda, leaving the police inspector feeling decidedly conflicted. “How could he let go of this man, whom he had followed so doggedly and with such persistence? How could he let him venture into the wilderness like this? Fix looked at the gentleman intently and despite himself, for all his feelings against Fogg and in spite of the struggle that was going on inside him, he felt uncomfortable when confronted with that calm and honest expression.”
And once Phileas Fogg and the U.S. Army detachment from Fort Kearney have indeed rescued Passepartout, it turns out that there is – once again – an alternate means of transportation, this time across across the frozen Northern plains:
It was a sort of frame built upon two long beams that were turned up at the end like the runners on a sledge, and there was room for about five or six people. A third of the way along the frame, to the front, stood a very tall mast, to which was attached a huge spanker sail. From this mast, which was firmly held in position by cables, stretched an iron stay, the purpose of which was to hoist a very large jib. At the rear a sort of oar-rudder enabled the contraption to be steered.
It was, as can be seen from this description, a sledge, but with the rigging of a sloop. In winter, on the ice-bound plain, when the trains are no longer running because of the snow, these vehicles travel very fast from station to station. What is more, they have an enormous expanse of sail – greater even than a racing cutter, which is liable to capsize – and with the wind behind them they glide along the surface of the prairies as fast if not faster than express trains.
One of the pre-eminent pleasures of Around the World in Eighty Days is looking on as Phileas Fogg, time after time, figures out a new way to continue with his voyage, once his original plans have not worked out. And the journey of this sail-sled across the snowy plains makes for some of the most exciting and fast-moving passages of the novel.
The resolution of the novel is probably not as surprising for readers nowadays as it was in 1872, but it is a fun denouement nonetheless. In an informative foreword to this Penguin Classics edition of Around the World in Eighty Days, science-fiction author and scholar Brian Aldiss reminds us that one can now go around the world in 55 hours (London Heathrow to Sydney to Los Angeles, and then back to Heathrow), whilst effectively setting what may have been Verne’s most popular adventure novel in the context of its time.
I have never travelled around the world as Phileas Fogg and Passepartout did; but I have now visited all of the countries mentioned in Verne’s novel. I’ve visited 85 countries so far, come to that. And as it was when I was a child of 10 or so, so it is now that I am in my sixties: Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingte jours remains one of the most delightful travel adventures ever set down.
January 11, 2009
Whether or not you've read the novel or watched the movie, Jules Verne's
Around the World in 80 Days
is so embedded in Western culture that just about everyone knows the basic plot premise: wealthy and reticent Englishman Phileas Fogg makes gentlemanly bet with his chums that he can travel around the world in 80 days and then sets off with his temperamental French servant to do just that.
The idea for the story came from the actual journey of eccentric Bostonian George Francis Train. (Who liked to refer to himself as "Citizen Train" - check out the NYTimes article from the day he finished his trip in Tacoma, WA.)
What I hadn't expected of Verne's novel is that it is such a blatant reminder of how far we've come in the last 135 years since colonialist superiority was treated as unquestioned fact:
"The steamer passed along near the shores, but the savage Papuans, who are in the lowest scale of humanity, but are not, as has been asserted, cannibals, did not make their appearance."
Similar descriptions applied to Punjabis, Chinese, and Native Americans are littered throughout the book. It's also clear that, at the time of writing the novel, Verne was an unabashed Anglophile. Not only is the book a celebration of the British empire at its peak, but Verne is constantly praising Fogg's alleged English qualities (honor, stoicism, courage) and jabbing at his servent Passepartout's Frenchness (temperamental, impetuous, chatty).
What I found fascinating about Around the World in 80 Days has nothing to do with the book itself, but rather how Jules Verne wrote it. When he was a young boy, according to accounts of relatives, he ran away from home and attempted to sail out to sea to follow the adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Having failed, he promised his mother that "henceforth I will travel only in dream." For the rest of his writing career Verne rarely traveled. Rather he would surround himself with books and research the landscapes of his novels without ever setting foot there himself.
In the words of Ethan, Jules Verne might be what you consider an OG bridgeblogger. If you have even the most remote interest in African issues then you probably follow Ethan's blog. He is incredibly talented at consuming and digesting large volumes of information about a complicated topic and then presenting that information in an easy-to-follow narrative that doesn't simplify its complexity. But in all my years of following Ethan's blog I think he's only traveled to Africa for two short conference-related trips.
The obvious difference between Ethan and Jules (apart from the fact that Ethan is both nicer and more empathetic) is the number of research and communication tools that we now have at our disposal. Verne had his local library, letters, and the telegraph. Today, apart from being able to glimpse the front pages of hundreds of newspapers from around the world at the Newseum, we are also able to learn about the world around us in real time thanks to Global Voices, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Google Earth. What's more, we can - and often do - develop real and meaningful friendships from our interactions on those sites.
Still, there is something about being on the ground, there in person, that allows you to soak in and understand new lands, cultures, and customs in a way that even the most advanced virtual worlds could never rival. I doubt that Ethan would be such an impassioned Africaphile were it not for his time spent in Ghana. And Joi is right, if he really wants to understand the Middle East, the best thing to do is move there. (Though mentioning United Arab Emirates' tax benefits would have been a brave gesture of sincerity.)
I do understand that increased international travel is neither good for our environment nor our budgets. But, done responsibly, it is good for humanity. The more we experience other cultures the more we understand about ourselves and our place in the world. Which is why I wholly support initiatives like Abby Falik's Global Citizen Year fellowship program (which hopefully won't be bogged down by the bureaucracy, legacy, and politics of Peace Corps).
As Michael Naimark notes in a smart essay on the 80plus1 website, Verne's novel celebrated the technological advances of the industrial era. Thanks to the steam engine, railways, and global colonialism, it was possible for the first time to circumnavigate the globe in just 80 days. Today we're still at the dawn of a new era of technological advances: pervasive networked and structured data. These tools will lead to a new era of exploration. There are no longer new lands, tribes, and cities to discover. Just by starting up Google Earth we can cast our eyes on every hidden corner of the world. The curiosity that inspires exploration, however, remains. Something keeps Matt traveling and dancing around the world and keeps Nicholas daydreaming about his next trip to Guyana or Venezuela or Argentina. Something inspired this Chinese blogger to travel around the world in 800 days. But exploration today isn't about discovering the so-called undiscovered. It's about understanding what has been there all along.
The idea for the story came from the actual journey of eccentric Bostonian George Francis Train. (Who liked to refer to himself as "Citizen Train" - check out the NYTimes article from the day he finished his trip in Tacoma, WA.)
What I hadn't expected of Verne's novel is that it is such a blatant reminder of how far we've come in the last 135 years since colonialist superiority was treated as unquestioned fact:
"The steamer passed along near the shores, but the savage Papuans, who are in the lowest scale of humanity, but are not, as has been asserted, cannibals, did not make their appearance."
Similar descriptions applied to Punjabis, Chinese, and Native Americans are littered throughout the book. It's also clear that, at the time of writing the novel, Verne was an unabashed Anglophile. Not only is the book a celebration of the British empire at its peak, but Verne is constantly praising Fogg's alleged English qualities (honor, stoicism, courage) and jabbing at his servent Passepartout's Frenchness (temperamental, impetuous, chatty).
What I found fascinating about Around the World in 80 Days has nothing to do with the book itself, but rather how Jules Verne wrote it. When he was a young boy, according to accounts of relatives, he ran away from home and attempted to sail out to sea to follow the adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Having failed, he promised his mother that "henceforth I will travel only in dream." For the rest of his writing career Verne rarely traveled. Rather he would surround himself with books and research the landscapes of his novels without ever setting foot there himself.
In the words of Ethan, Jules Verne might be what you consider an OG bridgeblogger. If you have even the most remote interest in African issues then you probably follow Ethan's blog. He is incredibly talented at consuming and digesting large volumes of information about a complicated topic and then presenting that information in an easy-to-follow narrative that doesn't simplify its complexity. But in all my years of following Ethan's blog I think he's only traveled to Africa for two short conference-related trips.
The obvious difference between Ethan and Jules (apart from the fact that Ethan is both nicer and more empathetic) is the number of research and communication tools that we now have at our disposal. Verne had his local library, letters, and the telegraph. Today, apart from being able to glimpse the front pages of hundreds of newspapers from around the world at the Newseum, we are also able to learn about the world around us in real time thanks to Global Voices, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Google Earth. What's more, we can - and often do - develop real and meaningful friendships from our interactions on those sites.
Still, there is something about being on the ground, there in person, that allows you to soak in and understand new lands, cultures, and customs in a way that even the most advanced virtual worlds could never rival. I doubt that Ethan would be such an impassioned Africaphile were it not for his time spent in Ghana. And Joi is right, if he really wants to understand the Middle East, the best thing to do is move there. (Though mentioning United Arab Emirates' tax benefits would have been a brave gesture of sincerity.)
I do understand that increased international travel is neither good for our environment nor our budgets. But, done responsibly, it is good for humanity. The more we experience other cultures the more we understand about ourselves and our place in the world. Which is why I wholly support initiatives like Abby Falik's Global Citizen Year fellowship program (which hopefully won't be bogged down by the bureaucracy, legacy, and politics of Peace Corps).
As Michael Naimark notes in a smart essay on the 80plus1 website, Verne's novel celebrated the technological advances of the industrial era. Thanks to the steam engine, railways, and global colonialism, it was possible for the first time to circumnavigate the globe in just 80 days. Today we're still at the dawn of a new era of technological advances: pervasive networked and structured data. These tools will lead to a new era of exploration. There are no longer new lands, tribes, and cities to discover. Just by starting up Google Earth we can cast our eyes on every hidden corner of the world. The curiosity that inspires exploration, however, remains. Something keeps Matt traveling and dancing around the world and keeps Nicholas daydreaming about his next trip to Guyana or Venezuela or Argentina. Something inspired this Chinese blogger to travel around the world in 800 days. But exploration today isn't about discovering the so-called undiscovered. It's about understanding what has been there all along.
July 15, 2019
“The chance which now seems lost may present itself at the last moment.”I got this novel from my cousin. It’s her course book. I didn’t want to read this novel because it’s out of my taste. It’s neither Fantasy nor Sci-Fi. But she made me to read this…
Well, this book was good. Really good. But I didn’t like it the way I should have…I just got little bored of these adventures.
It’s the story of a man named Phileas Fogg who bets his friends that he can make the tour of the world in 80 days. The reward of winning is 20,000 pounds which is a huge amount considering it in those days. He, with his servant, goes to this voyage. But the problem is; in those days, there happens a huge robbery in the bank. And the description of the robber matches with Mr. Fogg. So that, Detective Fix is after him during this tour.
--- I liked the character of Mr. Fogg. This man doesn’t worry about anything. I haven’t read such a calm character yet. I want to be like this but I can’t help it…😂
--- My cousin had already watched its movie adaptation. She gave me the spoiler and I was always waiting for it… BUT that never came!! And that’s a good thing. Seems like movie is different than this book.
--- And that ending was kind of … I don’t know … hurried? Anyway, I didn’t mind it.
All in all, it’s a good classic. I would have enjoyed it a lot if I was a classic reader.
“I see that it is by no means useless to travel, if a man wants to see something new”
August 29, 2016
Around the World in Eighty Days was first published by Jules Verne in 1873, and was introduced to an adoring public as monthly installments.
Each chapter is thus seen as connected but with its own hooks and cliffhangers. The character of Phileas Fogg has become a stoic archetype for too cool operators in books to come in several genres.
This is fast moving and fun, still a good read over a hundred years later. One very interesting aspect of the narrative was the portrait of the American west in the 1870s from a European perspective.
Each chapter is thus seen as connected but with its own hooks and cliffhangers. The character of Phileas Fogg has become a stoic archetype for too cool operators in books to come in several genres.
This is fast moving and fun, still a good read over a hundred years later. One very interesting aspect of the narrative was the portrait of the American west in the 1870s from a European perspective.
August 9, 2015
1 I-hated-it-32-years-ago-and-still-hate-it star.
A couple days ago my son and I were talking about boring classroom reading material. This reminded me that I never rated this glorious piece of classic literature. How anyone would insist that students had to mandatorily read it in the 80s is beyond me, let alone in the 21st century. A couple years ago, when my son came home with that little paperback edition and whined about how incredibly uninteresting this "gem" is, I calmed him down by saying that I felt for him because it bored me to tears back in the 80s. Yes, I have no scruples to say that I hated it. #sorrynotsorryatall
A couple days ago my son and I were talking about boring classroom reading material. This reminded me that I never rated this glorious piece of classic literature. How anyone would insist that students had to mandatorily read it in the 80s is beyond me, let alone in the 21st century. A couple years ago, when my son came home with that little paperback edition and whined about how incredibly uninteresting this "gem" is, I calmed him down by saying that I felt for him because it bored me to tears back in the 80s. Yes, I have no scruples to say that I hated it. #sorrynotsorryatall
December 9, 2021
Re-Read 12/9/21:
This read was again just as enjoyable as the first. :)
Update! 20,000 Pounds back then, adjusted by inflation and converted to today's American Dollar, would come out to be $16,593,290.
Isn't that FASCINATING? To think, to take trains, boats, or an elephant, would STILL cost 16 million dollars today.
Oh. Wait. It probably does.
Original Review:
The original steampunk adventure! Written while it was still called modern!
Fascinating! :)
Seriously, though... Jules Verne knows how to write a fast-paced adventure with French tomfoolery and English sprats. They're buckling down to show other multi-millionaires (price adjusted) what a *real* wager is, using nothing more than a very keen mind and a talent for reading multiple departures in the paper. (You had to be there. And you also have to enjoy a period piece, too!)
But that's not all, folks! The Indian Princess gets saved by the Bully Englishman! Awwww... I've almost got a picture in my head of Tarzan swinging Jane through the jungle. :)
It really is a fun novel, all told. Light fun, adventure, theft, mistaken identity, and even a moral to tuck in the end of the story to send us off to dreamland. Awww.
This read was again just as enjoyable as the first. :)
Update! 20,000 Pounds back then, adjusted by inflation and converted to today's American Dollar, would come out to be $16,593,290.
Isn't that FASCINATING? To think, to take trains, boats, or an elephant, would STILL cost 16 million dollars today.
Oh. Wait. It probably does.
Original Review:
The original steampunk adventure! Written while it was still called modern!
Fascinating! :)
Seriously, though... Jules Verne knows how to write a fast-paced adventure with French tomfoolery and English sprats. They're buckling down to show other multi-millionaires (price adjusted) what a *real* wager is, using nothing more than a very keen mind and a talent for reading multiple departures in the paper. (You had to be there. And you also have to enjoy a period piece, too!)
But that's not all, folks! The Indian Princess gets saved by the Bully Englishman! Awwww... I've almost got a picture in my head of Tarzan swinging Jane through the jungle. :)
It really is a fun novel, all told. Light fun, adventure, theft, mistaken identity, and even a moral to tuck in the end of the story to send us off to dreamland. Awww.
March 7, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I usually prefer long books with lots of details and drawn-out adventures, but once in a while it's nice to read a shorter story where lots of things happen.
This is the third book by Jules Verne I've read and I loved all three of them. The story just brought me a lot of joy and it was fun to read it. His way of storytelling is simply amazing and ahead of his time. There isn't a lot I can say, it's just a nice little fun book to read in-between. I definitely recommend it!
This is the third book by Jules Verne I've read and I loved all three of them. The story just brought me a lot of joy and it was fun to read it. His way of storytelling is simply amazing and ahead of his time. There isn't a lot I can say, it's just a nice little fun book to read in-between. I definitely recommend it!
July 13, 2025
„Осемдесет дни около света“ е много симпатичен приключенски роман! Историята на загадъчния англичанин Филиас Фог, който си е поставил сложната задачата да направи бързо околосветско пътешествие, е изпълнена с динамични и опасни събития, както и със страхотно чувство за хумор...
„Но тъкмо когато двамата противници се готвеха да слязат, кондукторът изтича и им извика:
- Никой да не слиза, господа.
- Защо? - запита полковникът.
- Имаме двайсет минути закъснение и влакът няма да спира.
- Но аз трябва да се дуелирам с господина.
- Съжалявам - отвърна чиновникът, - тръгваме веднага, ето и звънеца!
И наистина звънецът удари и влакът тръгна.
- Съжалявам много, господа - каза тогава кондукторът. - При всички други обстоятелства бих ви улеснил. Но в краен случай, понеже нямахте време да се дуелирате тук, какво ви пречи да се дуелирате по пътя?
- Може да не е удобно на господина! - подигравателно каза полковник Проктър.
- Много ми е удобно - отговори Филиас Фог.
- Е, положително сме в Америка! - си помисли Паспарту. - кондукторът е джентълмен от най-доброто общество!“
„Но тъкмо когато двамата противници се готвеха да слязат, кондукторът изтича и им извика:
- Никой да не слиза, господа.
- Защо? - запита полковникът.
- Имаме двайсет минути закъснение и влакът няма да спира.
- Но аз трябва да се дуелирам с господина.
- Съжалявам - отвърна чиновникът, - тръгваме веднага, ето и звънеца!
И наистина звънецът удари и влакът тръгна.
- Съжалявам много, господа - каза тогава кондукторът. - При всички други обстоятелства бих ви улеснил. Но в краен случай, понеже нямахте време да се дуелирате тук, какво ви пречи да се дуелирате по пътя?
- Може да не е удобно на господина! - подигравателно каза полковник Проктър.
- Много ми е удобно - отговори Филиас Фог.
- Е, положително сме в Америка! - си помисли Паспарту. - кондукторът е джентълмен от най-доброто общество!“
April 18, 2024
Quite adventurous! And the story is based on so much factual information that it’s actually far more fun and entertaining than I expected.
I read this book last week trying to catch up with my classics unread pile. And I am genuinely surprised with how much this book entertained me. I just cannot get enough of this book!
I am in love with this Puffin UK edition living true to my Puffin classic edition obsession ✨
It’s the story of Phileas Fogg who wages his fortune for a challenge to travel the world in just eighty days! The story was set during the 1870s or before that when this book was written. We can imagine how the man could possibly carry out this challenge considering the limited means of transportation during that time.
With his new valet, also a loyal to the core companion, Passepartout, he sets out to accomplish the set mission.
The writing is engagingly good and filled with playful words that display wisdom, information based on actual facts, wit and sarcasm. The perfect combination that kept me wanting for more!
Reading this book made me feel like I was in a video game world in which I had to do my best to accomplish the mission to save my life!
The characters are well etched, my favourite being Passepartout. His monologues are the best!
The highlights for this book would be the different places in different countries including India (the first place they visited) and I was quite surprised with how much knowledge that little part provided based on real events. One example would be the discussion on Sati (women had to jumped into the burning pyre of their dead husbands sacrificing their lives). More such information based at different places are mentioned as well.
An amazing read. You will go on reading until you find out if they really accomplished their mission or not!
Pick up this book if you don’t know what to pick up next or if you have been a victim of average reads recently.
I read this book last week trying to catch up with my classics unread pile. And I am genuinely surprised with how much this book entertained me. I just cannot get enough of this book!
I am in love with this Puffin UK edition living true to my Puffin classic edition obsession ✨
It’s the story of Phileas Fogg who wages his fortune for a challenge to travel the world in just eighty days! The story was set during the 1870s or before that when this book was written. We can imagine how the man could possibly carry out this challenge considering the limited means of transportation during that time.
With his new valet, also a loyal to the core companion, Passepartout, he sets out to accomplish the set mission.
The writing is engagingly good and filled with playful words that display wisdom, information based on actual facts, wit and sarcasm. The perfect combination that kept me wanting for more!
Reading this book made me feel like I was in a video game world in which I had to do my best to accomplish the mission to save my life!
The characters are well etched, my favourite being Passepartout. His monologues are the best!
The highlights for this book would be the different places in different countries including India (the first place they visited) and I was quite surprised with how much knowledge that little part provided based on real events. One example would be the discussion on Sati (women had to jumped into the burning pyre of their dead husbands sacrificing their lives). More such information based at different places are mentioned as well.
An amazing read. You will go on reading until you find out if they really accomplished their mission or not!
Pick up this book if you don’t know what to pick up next or if you have been a victim of average reads recently.
September 19, 2021
يومه محسوب بالدقائق🕛..و افعاله متوقعة لشهور بل و أعوام
فيلياس فوج..متحذلقا..دقيقا..غارقا في التفاصيل التي تضيع عليه بهجة الحياة
..ببالغ في نظامه و انضباطه حتى انه من المستحيل رؤيته عصبيا أو مغتاظا😠. .متوترا او متعجلا
فوج يبالغ في انفصاله عن الحياة و المجتمع ..يتبنى الاعتدال و المحدودية. .يتجنب المناقشات.."لا الومه حقا" بل اني انبهر احيانا بهذا النمط و قدرته على الصمود..لكني مندهشة من اختياره في منتصف القرن 18 ..الدنيا هى هي إذن
باختصار فيلياس فوج يتفادى بكل قوته ان يكون إنسانا..
و هذا يستفز زملاؤه في النادي فراهنوه على أنه لن ينجح في الدوران حول العالم في 80يوم. .مهما كان منضبطا
و هكذا نبدأ أغرب رحلات جول فيرن .. و استخدم فيها كل وسائل النقل المتاحة و اللامعقولةايضا🐘
🌟🌟🌟لماذا ثلاث نجوم فقط اذن ؟
اولا لانها بعيدة نوعا عن جو فيرن الخيالي المعتاد..ثانيا : لانها إحدى رواياتي المدرسية..ثالثا : لانها الرواية الوحيدة التي قراتها باللغة الفرنسية مما قلل متعتي بها .. فانا اعترف: ليس هناك اي عمار بيني و بين الفرنسية ..و لن يكون ابدا..ابدا
بل اعتبر أصدقائي الذين يجيدونها بارعيين كالسحرة تمام
فيلياس فوج..متحذلقا..دقيقا..غارقا في التفاصيل التي تضيع عليه بهجة الحياة
..ببالغ في نظامه و انضباطه حتى انه من المستحيل رؤيته عصبيا أو مغتاظا😠. .متوترا او متعجلا
فوج يبالغ في انفصاله عن الحياة و المجتمع ..يتبنى الاعتدال و المحدودية. .يتجنب المناقشات.."لا الومه حقا" بل اني انبهر احيانا بهذا النمط و قدرته على الصمود..لكني مندهشة من اختياره في منتصف القرن 18 ..الدنيا هى هي إذن
باختصار فيلياس فوج يتفادى بكل قوته ان يكون إنسانا..
و هذا يستفز زملاؤه في النادي فراهنوه على أنه لن ينجح في الدوران حول العالم في 80يوم. .مهما كان منضبطا
و هكذا نبدأ أغرب رحلات جول فيرن .. و استخدم فيها كل وسائل النقل المتاحة و اللامعقولةايضا🐘
🌟🌟🌟لماذا ثلاث نجوم فقط اذن ؟
اولا لانها بعيدة نوعا عن جو فيرن الخيالي المعتاد..ثانيا : لانها إحدى رواياتي المدرسية..ثالثا : لانها الرواية الوحيدة التي قراتها باللغة الفرنسية مما قلل متعتي بها .. فانا اعترف: ليس هناك اي عمار بيني و بين الفرنسية ..و لن يكون ابدا..ابدا
بل اعتبر أصدقائي الذين يجيدونها بارعيين كالسحرة تمام
November 10, 2008
I finished Around the World in 80 Days today and it was even better than I remembered from my childhood. Admittedly, the version I had read as a child was the Great Illustrated Classics edition that was, unfortunately, abridged. I felt that a reading of the unabridged classic was long overdue. Shockingly enough, I still remembered the ending 20 years later.
Just the task Phileas Fogg faces in traveling the world in 80 days (in the 19th century) and the obstacles that pop up to delay his travels would make for a fabulous story, but the element of a cat-and-mouse chase really puts this book over the top! I highly recommend it for anyone who loves grand adventure stories.
I can see why Jules Verne is touted as one of the finest French authors. He is deserving of all accolades!
Just the task Phileas Fogg faces in traveling the world in 80 days (in the 19th century) and the obstacles that pop up to delay his travels would make for a fabulous story, but the element of a cat-and-mouse chase really puts this book over the top! I highly recommend it for anyone who loves grand adventure stories.
I can see why Jules Verne is touted as one of the finest French authors. He is deserving of all accolades!
September 9, 2020
"La Tierra es más pequeña, puesto que puede ser recorrida diez veces más rápido que hace cien años."
Fue el primer libro de Verne que leí, sin ser una gran obra maestra, es un libro muy entretenido a leer con muchas aventuras y una diversidad de temáticas, personajes y sociedades, pues todo parte de un tour digamos mundial que sera producto de una apuesta de señorones burgueses. Un relato de descubrir nuevos mundos y tambien del valor de las amistades.
La manera como empieza y termina el libro a mi parecer es lo más pintoresco.
Fue el primer libro de Verne que leí, sin ser una gran obra maestra, es un libro muy entretenido a leer con muchas aventuras y una diversidad de temáticas, personajes y sociedades, pues todo parte de un tour digamos mundial que sera producto de una apuesta de señorones burgueses. Un relato de descubrir nuevos mundos y tambien del valor de las amistades.
La manera como empieza y termina el libro a mi parecer es lo más pintoresco.
August 4, 2025
Only Jules Verne could make this plot so boring.
July 1, 2022
يومه محسوب بالدقائق🕛..و افعاله متوقعة لشهور بل و أعوام
فيلياس فوج..متحذلقا..دقيقا..غارقا في التفاصيل التي تضيع عليه بهجة الحياة
..ببالغ في نظامه و انضباطه حتى انه من المستحيل رؤيته عصبيا أو مغتاظا😠. .متوترا او متعجلا
فوج يبالغ في انفصاله عن الحياة و المجتمع ..يتبنى الاعتدال و المحدودية. .يتجنب المناقشات.."لا الومه حقا" بل اني انبهر احيانا بهذا النمط و قدرته على الصمود..لكني مندهشة من اختياره في منتصف القرن 18 ..الدنيا هى هي إذن
باختصار فيلياس فوج يتفادى بكل قوته ان يكون إنسانا..
و هذا يستفز زملاؤه في النادي فراهنوه على أنه لن ينجح في الدوران حول العالم في 80يوم. .مهما كان منضبطا
و هكذا نبدأ أغرب رحلات جول فيرن .. و استخدم فيها كل وسائل النقل المتاحة و اللامعقولةايضا🐘
🌟🌟🌟لماذا ثلاث نجوم فقط اذن ؟
اولا لانها بعيدة نوعا عن جو فيرن الخيالي المعتاد..ثانيا : لانها إحدى رواياتي المدرسية..ثالثا : لانها الرواية الوحيدة التي قراتها باللغة الفرنسية مما قلل متعتي بها.. فانا اعترف: ليس هناك اي عمار بيني و بين الفرنسية ..و لن يكون ابدا..ابدا
بل اعتبر أصدقائي الذين يجيدونها بارعيين كالسحرة تمام
فيلياس فوج..متحذلقا..دقيقا..غارقا في التفاصيل التي تضيع عليه بهجة الحياة
..ببالغ في نظامه و انضباطه حتى انه من المستحيل رؤيته عصبيا أو مغتاظا😠. .متوترا او متعجلا
فوج يبالغ في انفصاله عن الحياة و المجتمع ..يتبنى الاعتدال و المحدودية. .يتجنب المناقشات.."لا الومه حقا" بل اني انبهر احيانا بهذا النمط و قدرته على الصمود..لكني مندهشة من اختياره في منتصف القرن 18 ..الدنيا هى هي إذن
باختصار فيلياس فوج يتفادى بكل قوته ان يكون إنسانا..
و هذا يستفز زملاؤه في النادي فراهنوه على أنه لن ينجح في الدوران حول العالم في 80يوم. .مهما كان منضبطا
و هكذا نبدأ أغرب رحلات جول فيرن .. و استخدم فيها كل وسائل النقل المتاحة و اللامعقولةايضا🐘
🌟🌟🌟لماذا ثلاث نجوم فقط اذن ؟
اولا لانها بعيدة نوعا عن جو فيرن الخيالي المعتاد..ثانيا : لانها إحدى رواياتي المدرسية..ثالثا : لانها الرواية الوحيدة التي قراتها باللغة الفرنسية مما قلل متعتي بها.. فانا اعترف: ليس هناك اي عمار بيني و بين الفرنسية ..و لن يكون ابدا..ابدا
بل اعتبر أصدقائي الذين يجيدونها بارعيين كالسحرة تمام
September 13, 2018
I really enjoyed this - a fun and interesting read, and more heartfelt than I expected. It's quite interesting to see a French take on 19th century Englishness, and a 19th century perspective on the world.
February 8, 2022
Jules Verne is a favorite author from my childhood. I have been rereading some of his works and to be honest I've been left a little underwhelmed. Not so with around the world in 80 days! It's a 5-star read and most likely my favorite extraordinary voyages.
80 days was truly action packed. None of this bad science or terribly boring diatribes that were abundant in journey to the center of the earth and ten thousand leagues under the sea. I've heard somewhere that travel logs were the most popular form of writing to Victorians. If they all were as exciting as 80 days, I can see why. I thought it was funny. The main character Phileas fogg is about as dry as a desert and a good match for the fiery Frenchman Passepartout. Fogg a gentleman made the bet and the pair struck out immediately. Along the way they save a damsel, join a circus troop, sail through Storms, experience a violent pollical meeting, learn and reject Mormonism, all by being chased by a detective. Short and fast paced i can't think of a reason not to read this!
What an amazing journey. i could not remember if Fogg won the bet or not. i remember him getting the girl and that being ascribed as more important than the bet. i was really on the edge of my seat until the end!
80 days was truly action packed. None of this bad science or terribly boring diatribes that were abundant in journey to the center of the earth and ten thousand leagues under the sea. I've heard somewhere that travel logs were the most popular form of writing to Victorians. If they all were as exciting as 80 days, I can see why. I thought it was funny. The main character Phileas fogg is about as dry as a desert and a good match for the fiery Frenchman Passepartout. Fogg a gentleman made the bet and the pair struck out immediately. Along the way they save a damsel, join a circus troop, sail through Storms, experience a violent pollical meeting, learn and reject Mormonism, all by being chased by a detective. Short and fast paced i can't think of a reason not to read this!
What an amazing journey. i could not remember if Fogg won the bet or not. i remember him getting the girl and that being ascribed as more important than the bet. i was really on the edge of my seat until the end!
September 5, 2020
Have been reading this in French, and I have to say, Verne's book gained in translation, instead of having lost, if you get my drift.
This was a reread. It held up well, and in the lack of otherwise, I must credit the pleasurable, and ingenious denouement to Jules Verne.
The book must have looked drop dead fresh, pardon the oxymoron, in its debut year. As you see, the English language has borrowed a lot from the French. It has gained in richness for that.
This was a reread. It held up well, and in the lack of otherwise, I must credit the pleasurable, and ingenious denouement to Jules Verne.
The book must have looked drop dead fresh, pardon the oxymoron, in its debut year. As you see, the English language has borrowed a lot from the French. It has gained in richness for that.
September 15, 2019
Este no es el tipo de lecturas que más disfruto, y aún así me ha resultado bastante entretenido.
Lo mejor para mi han sido las curiosidades que nos iba relatando Verne de las diferentes partes del mundo que pisaba Fogg (poco más hacía que pisarlas, desgraciadamente, tremenda momia xD), de hecho me hubiera gustado leer más sobre estos países y menos sobre la locura de cálculos matemáticos para llegar a tiempo a todo.
De todas maneras me entretuvo y me hicieron gracia sus personajes y especialmente las constantes comparaciones entre el carácter inglés y el francés.
Recomendado para quien busque una lectura ligera de aventurillas muy bien narrada.
Lo mejor para mi han sido las curiosidades que nos iba relatando Verne de las diferentes partes del mundo que pisaba Fogg (poco más hacía que pisarlas, desgraciadamente, tremenda momia xD), de hecho me hubiera gustado leer más sobre estos países y menos sobre la locura de cálculos matemáticos para llegar a tiempo a todo.
De todas maneras me entretuvo y me hicieron gracia sus personajes y especialmente las constantes comparaciones entre el carácter inglés y el francés.
Recomendado para quien busque una lectura ligera de aventurillas muy bien narrada.
November 20, 2017
This book brings so much childhood memories back. My dad just to read aloud and retell over and over again Jules Verne's stories and I'm so grateful for that. It ignited my passion for reading a long time ago, as I learned for the first time that I can travel around the world through books and stories, laying in the warm room.
I can still remember the vivid images of my imagination that I had as a child listening to this story and feelings will never fade, I still felt quite emotional rereading this story and joining Mr. Fogg on his journey.
Thank you, dad, and that you Mr. Verne for introducing me to the magical world of literature.
I can still remember the vivid images of my imagination that I had as a child listening to this story and feelings will never fade, I still felt quite emotional rereading this story and joining Mr. Fogg on his journey.
Thank you, dad, and that you Mr. Verne for introducing me to the magical world of literature.
October 12, 2023
The harrowing survival story of a checked-in luggage on a domestic flight...
March 17, 2017
ممکن است فرصتی که به دنبالش هستیم در آخرین لحظه فرا برسد.
...
این کتاب دقیقا مصداق همین جمله ست که از خود کتاب نوشتم. حکایت بیم و امید با چاشنی تلاش در ماجراجوییهایی خونسردانه.
داستان شخصی که در پی یه شرطبندی تصمیم میگیره دور دنیا رو در هشتاد روز طی کنه و در این راه با معماها، اتفاقات جالب و اشارات فرهنگی مواجه میشیم.
شخصیت فیلیس فاگ واقعا برای من الهامبخش بود که چطوری در طول سفر و اتفاقات غیرمترقبه خونسردیش رو حفظ میکرد و جای کاسهی چه کنم چه کنم به دست گرفتن، به فکر و دنبال راهحلی بود.
گرچه پایانبندی داستان تا انتها جنبهی غافلگیرانهش رو حفظ میکنه، با این حال شروع داستان و در پایان نوع خارج شدن فیکس از ماجرا یه کم دمدستی به نظرم اومد. با این حال این دو مورد از ارزش کتاب کم نمیکنه و خوشحالم خوندمش.
پینوشت: واقعا پول قدرت میاره :دی
...
این کتاب دقیقا مصداق همین جمله ست که از خود کتاب نوشتم. حکایت بیم و امید با چاشنی تلاش در ماجراجوییهایی خونسردانه.
داستان شخصی که در پی یه شرطبندی تصمیم میگیره دور دنیا رو در هشتاد روز طی کنه و در این راه با معماها، اتفاقات جالب و اشارات فرهنگی مواجه میشیم.
شخصیت فیلیس فاگ واقعا برای من الهامبخش بود که چطوری در طول سفر و اتفاقات غیرمترقبه خونسردیش رو حفظ میکرد و جای کاسهی چه کنم چه کنم به دست گرفتن، به فکر و دنبال راهحلی بود.
گرچه پایانبندی داستان تا انتها جنبهی غافلگیرانهش رو حفظ میکنه، با این حال شروع داستان و در پایان نوع خارج شدن فیکس از ماجرا یه کم دمدستی به نظرم اومد. با این حال این دو مورد از ارزش کتاب کم نمیکنه و خوشحالم خوندمش.
پینوشت: واقعا پول قدرت میاره :دی
December 30, 2019
Oh this book is everything! This is so much more than I expected!
I love Trip Fiction and I'm not sure if this is the first of the genre but it certainly has to be one of the first and it's so much more than Trip Fiction. It also has romance, adventure and police procedural genres all rolled in. Its everything.
I enjoyed this so much, my only regret is that this is not a full length novel. In true novella style there are parts where the narrator says something along the lines of, and once they arrived in Egypt and your like, Grr I want to know all the details of how they got to Egypt. I usually avoid novellas for this very reason as I'm a details kind of girl rather than a skimmer but I am glad I read this as its such an adult version of The Famous Five or The Secret Seven.
A solid four star read.
I love Trip Fiction and I'm not sure if this is the first of the genre but it certainly has to be one of the first and it's so much more than Trip Fiction. It also has romance, adventure and police procedural genres all rolled in. Its everything.
I enjoyed this so much, my only regret is that this is not a full length novel. In true novella style there are parts where the narrator says something along the lines of, and once they arrived in Egypt and your like, Grr I want to know all the details of how they got to Egypt. I usually avoid novellas for this very reason as I'm a details kind of girl rather than a skimmer but I am glad I read this as its such an adult version of The Famous Five or The Secret Seven.
A solid four star read.
August 26, 2015
More like five days for me really, though even that is too long for a 250 pages book. Well, it’s an audiobook and I only listened to it while commuting to work.
Yes, that is a silly intro but what I meant is that while listening to the book I often felt transported along with Phileas Fogg and crew. This is my first Jules Verne book, normally I prefer to read books in the original language they are written in because with translated books there is always an added layer between the translator and the original text. Still, if I avoid reading translated novels altogether I would have missed out on some great literature. This edition from Librivox* was translated by George Makepeace Towle, obviously I don’t know how accurate the translation is but the prose is very readable and the narrative entertaining.
I was immediately taken by the chummy tone of the narrative. Even though noting much happen in the first chapter I enjoyed Verne’s description of Phileas Fogg, a rather eccentric and enigmatic English gentleman; “exactitude personified” as Verne (or Towle?) puts it. The amusingly unflappable Fogg has a great foil in Passepartout (sounds like “passport two” in the audio). Passepartout is Fogg’s butler and sidekick, not so much Robin (as in Batman), or Jeeves, as Sancho Panza from Don Quixote, he is bumbling, loyal and extremely likable; his IQ seems to go up and down as the plot dictates though.
The basic plot of Around the World in Eighty Days is very simple, the novel tells the story of Phileas Fogg’s attempt to travel the world in no more than 80 days for a bet. He is accompanied by Passepartout, along the way they pick up a couple of characters to form an entourage and they go through several hair-raising adventures. The book is pretty much a romp from beginning to end, necessarily moving at breakneck speed as time is obviously limited and the page count is quite modest.
One thing that surprises me is that Verne, a French author chooses an Englishman for his hero and Passepartout, a Frenchman, as his bumbling sidekick. Was Jules Verne an Anglophile? Let me know in the comments please. Of the other main characters, the Indian girl Aouda, who Fogg and Passepartout rescue from some zealot villains, seems to have very little in the way of agency. Then we have a Scotland Yard detective named Fix who is incredibly single-minded in his pursuit of Phileas Fogg (I keep imagining a musical adaptation of this book where he sings “I will try to Fix you”), I like him. Coming back to Fogg himself, he starts off being interestingly enigmatic and unflappable but by the end of the book seems like a one note character.
“As for Phileas Fogg, it seemed just as if the typhoon were a part of his programme”
That quote sums him up nicely. So Passepartout remains the novel’s best character for me.
Not much left for me to say really Around the World in Eighty Days is a hoot and I recommend it. I will certainly read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth and beyond. Jules Verne is my kind of guy!
________
* Audiobook from Librivox, entertainingly read by Ralph Snelson, thank you!
My thanks to Lyn, an excellent GR friend and reviewer, whose review prompted me to read this book.
Yes, that is a silly intro but what I meant is that while listening to the book I often felt transported along with Phileas Fogg and crew. This is my first Jules Verne book, normally I prefer to read books in the original language they are written in because with translated books there is always an added layer between the translator and the original text. Still, if I avoid reading translated novels altogether I would have missed out on some great literature. This edition from Librivox* was translated by George Makepeace Towle, obviously I don’t know how accurate the translation is but the prose is very readable and the narrative entertaining.
I was immediately taken by the chummy tone of the narrative. Even though noting much happen in the first chapter I enjoyed Verne’s description of Phileas Fogg, a rather eccentric and enigmatic English gentleman; “exactitude personified” as Verne (or Towle?) puts it. The amusingly unflappable Fogg has a great foil in Passepartout (sounds like “passport two” in the audio). Passepartout is Fogg’s butler and sidekick, not so much Robin (as in Batman), or Jeeves, as Sancho Panza from Don Quixote, he is bumbling, loyal and extremely likable; his IQ seems to go up and down as the plot dictates though.
The basic plot of Around the World in Eighty Days is very simple, the novel tells the story of Phileas Fogg’s attempt to travel the world in no more than 80 days for a bet. He is accompanied by Passepartout, along the way they pick up a couple of characters to form an entourage and they go through several hair-raising adventures. The book is pretty much a romp from beginning to end, necessarily moving at breakneck speed as time is obviously limited and the page count is quite modest.
One thing that surprises me is that Verne, a French author chooses an Englishman for his hero and Passepartout, a Frenchman, as his bumbling sidekick. Was Jules Verne an Anglophile? Let me know in the comments please. Of the other main characters, the Indian girl Aouda, who Fogg and Passepartout rescue from some zealot villains, seems to have very little in the way of agency. Then we have a Scotland Yard detective named Fix who is incredibly single-minded in his pursuit of Phileas Fogg (I keep imagining a musical adaptation of this book where he sings “I will try to Fix you”), I like him. Coming back to Fogg himself, he starts off being interestingly enigmatic and unflappable but by the end of the book seems like a one note character.
“As for Phileas Fogg, it seemed just as if the typhoon were a part of his programme”
That quote sums him up nicely. So Passepartout remains the novel’s best character for me.
Not much left for me to say really Around the World in Eighty Days is a hoot and I recommend it. I will certainly read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth and beyond. Jules Verne is my kind of guy!
________
* Audiobook from Librivox, entertainingly read by Ralph Snelson, thank you!
My thanks to Lyn, an excellent GR friend and reviewer, whose review prompted me to read this book.
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