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Jules Verne, the enormously popular French
author, is known as one of the founding fathers
of science fiction. Verne's stories, written for
adolescents as well as adults, caught the
enterprising spirit of the nineteenth century,
its uncritical fascination about scientific
progress and inventions. His works were often
written in the form of a travel book, which took
the readers on a voyage to the moon in From the
Earth to the Moon (1865) or to another direction
as in A Journey to the Center of the Earth
(1864). Many of Verne's ideas have been hailed
as prophetic. Around the World in Eighty Days
(1873), a classic adventure story, is among his
best-known books.
Around the World in Eighty Days is the story of
Phileas Fogg and his quest to complete the tour
of the world in eighty days, in order to win a
gentleman's wager. Accompanied by his loyal
servant Passepartout, Fogg embarks on a journey
in which he is followed by Detective Fix who
suspects him to be a bank robber. Fogg's journey
takes him through the Suez, Bombay, Hong Kong,
San Francisco and New York. The journey unfolds,
breathlessly, full of adventure, eccentricities
and surprises. |
