Jules Gabriel Verne (1828−1905) was a French novelist poet essayist and playwright who has also been the world’s second most translated writer since 1979. Popular for writing about air underwater and space travel much before submarines or air travel became a reality Verne was a visionary. Early in life he began writing for magazines and his collaboration with Pierre Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ‘Voyages Extraordinaires’ series that included Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870) and Around the World in 80 Days (1873). In his work Verne imagined a more harmonious and humanitarian society. English translations of Verne’s novels began in 1869 with William Lackland’s translation of Five Weeks in a Balloon (originally published in 1863) and continued throughout his writing career. On Verne and his influence on literature Ray Bradbury remarked “We are all in one way or another the children of Jules Verne.”
<p>A fastidious Englishman Phileas Fogg puts his life?s savings at stake claiming he could travel around the world in just eighty days. Thus begins his fantastic journey full of excitement and a great deal of risk. Phileas Fogg and his servant Passepartout visit many foreign lands exotic and beautiful lands.</p>
