Around the World in Eighty Days

“The world is big enough for all of us. No need to be in such a hurry.” — Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty Days

Chapters 1–5: The Wager

Phileas Fogg, a precise and wealthy Englishman, hires a new valet, Jean Passepartout. At the Reform Club, Fogg makes a £20,000 wager with fellow members that he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days, inspired by a newspaper article. He and Passepartout depart immediately, pursued by Detective Fix, who mistakenly believes Fogg is a bank robber.

Chapters 6–10: Europe and Asia

Traveling by train and steamer, Fogg and Passepartout cross Europe to Suez, where Fix boards their ship. In India, they rescue Aouda, a young widow, from a forced sati ritual. Fogg’s rigid schedule is briefly disrupted, but they escape by elephant and continue toward Hong Kong.

Chapters 11–15: The Pacific and America

Fix delays Passepartout in Hong Kong, causing Fogg to miss his steamer to Yokohama. Passepartout joins a circus to survive, while Fogg charters a boat. Reunited in Japan, they sail to San Francisco. Crossing the American West by train, they face attacks by Sioux warriors, forcing Passepartout’s daring rescue from captivity.

Chapters 16–20: The Atlantic and Return

A storm delays their Atlantic crossing, and Fogg burns the ship’s wood for fuel. Arriving in Liverpool, Fix arrests Fogg, but the real robber is caught days earlier. Fogg, now penniless, returns to London—apparently too late. Yet a time-zone miscalculation reveals he’s won the wager. He marries Aouda, and Passepartout rejoices.

Key Ideas

• Victorian-era fascination with technological progress and global travel.
• The clash between rigid discipline (Fogg) and spontaneity (Passepartout).
• Exploration of cultural differences and colonial attitudes.
• The reliability (or unreliability) of timetables and human ingenuity.
• A race against time as a metaphor for life’s unpredictability.

Notable Adaptations