Born on 8 February 1828, Jules Gabriel Verne was a French novelist, poet and playwright who has also been the second most-translated writer in the world 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). A writer of plays, poems, operetta libretti, short stories, essays and miscellaneous non-fiction, Verne, in his works 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, with publishers and translators working together to have his most popular books printed into English language. On Verne and his influence on literature, Ray Bradbury had remarked, We are all, in one way or another, the children of Jules Verne.
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The chance which now seems lost may present itself at the last moment. Jules Verne’s around the world in 80 days (1873) is the story of Phileas Fogg, an affluent English gentleman who leads a solitary life. Though Fogg doesn’t boast of a vibrant social life, he is a member of the reform club. After reading an article in the daily Telegraph about the opening of a new Railway section in India, which promises to make travel around the world possible in 80 days, he accepts a wager for 20, 000 from fellow club members, which will be given to him only if he makes it around the world in 80 days. With his newly employed French manservant Passe-partout, he leaves London by train on 2 October 1872. From rescuing a Raja’s young wife from Sati in the exotic land of India, boarding a train from San Francisco to new York which is attacked by a livid Sioux tribe, to finding a Steamboat destined for Bordeaux, France, the heroic traveller’ adventures continue to mesmerise readers even today.
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