Around the World in Eighty Days

Around the World in Eighty Days is from the Extraordinary Voyages series published in 1872 by French Victorian author Jules Verne. Recognized as an early example of the science fiction genre, the novel blends scientific content with artistic style. Verne is well known for writing adventure novels that accurately portray the use of complex travel-related technology developed during the Industrial Revolution such as steam engines and railways. His novels, at the same time, incorporate artistic descriptions of exotic locales and cultural practices.

Verne adapted Around the World in Eighty Days, one of his most popular works, for the theatre in 1874. Since then, multiple adaptations have appeared in different mediums including a musical adaptation produced by Orson Welles in 1946 titled Around the World and a recent television adaptation released in 2021 starring David Tennant as Phileas Fogg.

This guide refers to the 1981 Watermill Classic edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The text includes depictions of colonialism and dated cultural perspectives, as well as racial and national stereotypes reflective of the book’s time of writing.

Plot Summary

Phileas Fogg is a wealthy English gentleman living a solitary life in London. He is a member of the social Reform Club and spends his days following a strict routine that includes reading the daily news and gambling at the club.