Around the World in Eighty Days – The Perfect Entry Point to Jules Verne and Victorian Adventure
Few novels capture the spirit of discovery, daring, and determination quite like Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. First published in 1872, this classic adventure tale remains one of the most accessible and rewarding entry points not only into Verne’s body of work but also into the larger world of Victorian-era adventure fiction. If you’ve ever been curious about nineteenth-century literature but felt intimidated by the density of some classics, Verne offers a surprisingly breezy and engaging starting point.
In this post, we’ll explore why Around the World in Eighty Days remains a timeless favorite, what makes it the best first step into Jules Verne, and how it opens the door to a rich library of Victorian adventure stories.
A Story That Moves as Fast as Its Title
One of the reasons Around the World in Eighty Days has endured is its pace. Unlike many nineteenth-century novels that linger on lengthy descriptions and slow-building plots, Verne’s narrative is brisk, almost cinematic. The premise is simple but irresistible: Phileas Fogg, a mysterious English gentleman, wagers that he can circumnavigate the globe in just eighty days. Along with his loyal valet Passepartout, he embarks on a race against time using steamships, trains, and even elephants.
For modern readers used to fast-moving thrillers or globetrotting films, the novel feels surprisingly contemporary. Its episodic structure, with cliffhanger after cliffhanger, mirrors the serialized origins of the story. Verne wrote for readers who wanted excitement week by week, and the energy still crackles today.
Why It’s the Best Jules Verne Starter Novel
Jules Verne’s reputation as the “father of science fiction” often points readers toward Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas or Journey to the Center of the Earth. While both are extraordinary, they can feel denser and more speculative. Around the World in Eighty Days is grounded in real geography, real technology, and real historical context. It requires no suspension of disbelief beyond the plausibility of completing the journey on time.
This makes it ideal for first-time readers of Verne:
- Realism over speculation: Instead of futuristic submarines or underground worlds, the novel uses railways, steamships, and the Suez Canal; innovations of the time that were transforming the real world.
- Accessible characters: Fogg, Passepartout, and Detective Fix form a trio whose interactions are often humorous, adding a human warmth that softens the edges of the travelogue.
- Clear stakes: The ticking clock of the wager keeps tension high, and readers never lose track of what’s at stake.
Victorian Adventure at Its Best
The Victorian period was the golden age of serialized adventure, with writers like Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle following close on Verne’s heels. What unites these works is a fascination with exploration, empire, and technology. For readers today, they offer a fascinating glimpse into how people of the nineteenth century saw the world.
Verne stands out because he combines that same adventurous spirit with rigorous research. His novels brim with real-world details about geography, navigation, and science. This makes Around the World in Eighty Days both entertaining and educational, giving readers a taste of what it felt like to live in a time when the world seemed both vast and newly connected by modern technology.
A Bridge to Other Classics
Once you’ve finished Around the World in Eighty Days, you’ll find yourself ready for more. Here’s where to go next:
- Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth: More speculative, but rooted in the same mix of science and wonder.
- Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: Introduces Captain Nemo, one of literature’s great enigmatic figures.
- Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island: The definitive pirate adventure, full of action and unforgettable characters.
- Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World: Dinosaurs and Victorian explorers collide in a novel that helped set the stage for modern adventure and science fiction alike.
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Introduces the infamous Count Dracula, a figure more menacing on the page than any film adaptation truly captures.
Why It Still Resonates Today
For readers in the twenty-first century, Around the World in Eighty Days resonates in surprising ways. Global travel, which once seemed miraculous, is now routine, but the story reminds us of how thrilling it once was. The clash between rational planning (Fogg’s meticulous schedule) and unpredictable reality (delays, storms, human error) feels just as relevant in our age of flight cancellations and international logistics.
Even more importantly, the novel captures the universal appeal of adventure: the desire to test limits, explore the unknown, and see just how far we can go. It’s a story of resilience, resourcefulness, and the human drive to keep moving forward.
Final Thoughts: Start Your Journey Here
If you’ve ever wanted to dive into Jules Verne or Victorian adventure stories, Around the World in Eighty Days is the perfect place to start. It’s short, engaging, and historically grounded while still delivering all the drama and suspense of a modern thriller. From there, you can branch into Verne’s more imaginative works or explore other authors who defined the golden age of adventure fiction.
For readers of the classics, this is more than just an enjoyable novel; it’s a gateway to a world of literature that shaped how we still think about travel, science, and exploration today.
So pick up a copy, set your own clock, and see how quickly you find yourself swept up in one of the greatest journeys in literary history.
