Book Summary

"Around the World in Eighty Days" is an adventurous work by Jules Verne that narrates a beautiful and contemplative story. The events of the book relate to the journeys of its characters in the 19th century, who intend to embark on a journey from London and then return to their starting point within eighty days. The various side plots that occur, along with the element of humor present in the author's narration, create an appeal that keeps the reader engaged until the end.

The protagonist of the story exhibits a unique calmness in his behavior while simultaneously demonstrating an extraordinary effort and determination to achieve his goal, which adds to the book's allure. Phileas Fogg, the central character of the story, begins his journey after placing a £20,000 bet, accompanied by his servant named Passepartout. However, since he is suspected of having stolen from one of the banks in England, he is pursued by a stubborn police officer throughout his tumultuous journey.

Fogg engages in interesting acts during his travels; for instance, he saves a young woman whose Indian husband has died from death, then enters China and experiences strange events. One interesting aspect that Fogg utilizes to escape from the police is his continuous change of locations, which prevents a warrant for his arrest from being issued. As the story progresses, Fogg encounters Native Americans along his route, who attack him, but he manages to escape from them and heads towards Europe. A severe storm has arisen in America, causing ships heading to Europe to be halted in port until the storm subsides; however, Fogg does not want to waste time and rents a ship with his own money to continue on his path.

Although running out of fuel poses a significant challenge for the main character, he successfully continues his journey by using the mast instead of fuel and ultimately gets arrested by the police at the end of his travels. Fogg’s presence in court and his confrontation with a miraculous reality brings about a change in the protagonist's life, which requires a complete reading of Jules Verne's valuable novel to fully understand.

About the Author

Jules Gabriel Verne was a French writer and poet born on February 8, 1828, in Nantes, France. He was born and raised in a wealthy family and completed his studies in law but pursued writing due to his deep passion for it. After Agatha Christie, he has one of the most translated literary works globally and has fans across all ages. During his studies, Verne worked hard to stage his plays in Paris and faced many difficulties along the way; however, with persistence and familiarity with Alexandre Dumas, he overcame these challenges and gradually presented his works to favorable reception from audiences. Some of Verne's notable writings include: "Around the moon," "The Purchase of the North Pole," "The Carpathian Castle," "The Green ray," and many others. The great French writer eventually passed away on March 24, 1905, in Amiens, France, after years of effort.

Who Should Read the Book?

Those interested in exciting and adventurous stories are among the enthusiasts of this book, and they are encouraged to choose works by Jules Verne, including this one, for their reading.

The famous book "Around the World in Eighty Days" is organized by its author into 16 chapters with various titles.

Book Quotes

The train to Calcutta was crowded. Some of the passengers were military personnel, some were government employees, and many were spice merchants. Some travelers were heading east for business or personal reasons.

In the compartment of Mr. Fogg and his servant, there was a gentleman named Sir Francis Cromarty. Sir Francis, who played chess with Fogg during their journey from Suez to Bombay, intended to go to his regiment in Benares.

Sir Francis was a tall man, fair-haired, and nearly fifty years old. He was a major-general in the army and had lived in India since his youth, only occasionally visiting England. For this reason, he felt at home in India and knew a lot about the customs and history of the Indian people. If Mr. Fogg had wanted, he could have easily explained why Passepartout was attacked in the temple.

Mr. Fogg was mentally calculating the hours and, after figuring out the total hours spent, felt very pleased. At that moment, the train ascended a steep incline, and Sir Francis said, “The engineers have worked hard to build this railway. A few years ago, there was no railway in these hills, so people had to wait a long time to travel to the next station by using small ponies.”

Mr. Fogg replied, “But these delays won’t disrupt my travel plans because I have anticipated the delays along the way.”

However, unfortunately, your servant's incident in the temple might cause you trouble since the Indian government is very strict about such matters.

As they traveled eastward, Passepartout, who was exhilarated by the adventures of the journey, gradually began to take his master's trip seriously and became worried about potential delays. Therefore, when the train stopped at intermediate stations during the day, he would scold the train officials.

At seven in the morning, Willy, Aouda, and Passepartout set foot on American soil. Willy immediately asked about the departure time of the next train to New York. The train was scheduled to leave at six in the evening, so they had plenty of time to explore downtown California. He rented a carriage to go to the International Hotel.

After taking a bath and having breakfast, Willy and Aouda left the hotel for the office of the British consulate. Before Mr. Fogg left the hotel, Passepartout suggested that they should buy some revolvers because he had heard that Native Americans sometimes attack trains and rob passengers. Willy Fogg told him to do as he saw fit.

When he returned to the hotel, Passepartout was waiting for him with half a dozen revolvers. Willy merely raised one eyebrow slightly and then placed the revolver in his wallet. At six o'clock sharp, their train departed San Francisco for a seven-day journey to New York. The sky was gradually darkening, and the weather was cold, dreary, and somewhat cloudy. Fix also joined them in the same cabin, but rarely spoke.

Passepartout found a spot near the detective and sat down beside him without saying a word. In fact, he was ready to choke him with his hands at the slightest suspicious movement from the detective! The next morning, as if the train were suspended above deep valleys, it passed through the twists and turns of rugged mountain ranges and occasionally traversed narrow gorges.