Phileas Fogg bets his companions that he can travel across the world in just eighty days and the very next day sets out from the port of Dover with his servant Passeportout to achieve his aim. Passing through exotic lands and dangerous places, they seize whatever transportation is at hand, always racing against the clock.
Jules Verne (1828-1905) was born in Nantes, France. His father wanted him to study Law, but Jules preferred theatre and writing. Known as the pioneer of science fiction, his best-known novels include Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).
“The reason Verne is still read by millions today is simply that he was one of the best storytellers who ever lived.”
—Arthur C. Clarke
