Date of publication: 1873
The story starts in London October 2, 1872. Phileas Fogg is a wealthy, solitary, unmarried gentleman with regular habits. The source of his wealth is unknown and he lives modestly. He fires his former valet, James Forster, for bringing him shaving water two degrees too cold. He hires as a replacement Passepartout, a Frenchman of around 30 years of age.
Later that day in the Reform Club, he gets involved in an argument over an article in The Daily Telegraph, stating that with the opening of a new railway section in India, it is now possible to travel around the world in 80 days.
This calculation does not take into account practical matters like trouble finding transportation, but Fogg is sure that with his superbly calculative mind he can actually do it. He accepts a wager for £20,000 [equal to £2,500,000 today] from his fellow club members, which he will receive if he makes it around the world in 80 days. Accompanied by his manservant Passepartout, he leaves London by train at 8.45 P.M. on October 2, 1872, and thus is due back at the Reform Club at the same time 80 days later, on December 21.
(From Wikipedia, description text under GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL))
Project Gutenberg Edition
Free ebook to download in PDF format - 900 Kb - 339 pages
Main topics: friendship, love, English, adventure, culture, danger, ship, exoticism, geography, ideal, means of transport, police, progress, science, time, earth, modern life, journey.
Full original french versions also available:
Le tour du monde en 80 jours
Le tour du monde en 80 jours (Illustrated version)
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