Keeping a “stiff upper lip,” which of course means demonstrating restraint of emotions and keeping one’s head in dire situations, was an attribute especially prized by Victorian England. Again and again, Verne uses “cool” and “coolly” to describe Fogg’s behavior when confronted by adversity. When some enemy or danger confronts them, Fogg weighs the facts and circumstances, looks for solutions, and once his mind is made up as to a course of action, he never wavers in carrying out his plan. While the others stay awake worrying in the face of some catastrophe, Fogg sleeps unperturbed through the night. Fix, intrigues us by his single-minded, though wrongheaded, devotion to his duty.īut it is the enigmatic Mr. Even the ever-present bulldog of a detective, Mr. We take delight in the antics and thoughts of Passepartout, applauding his ingenuity and courage, and admire Aouda not only for her beauty but also for the abundant gratitude and fierce loyalty she shows to her rescuers. Passepartout, the beautiful Aouda, and a dozen other characters in Verne’s novel are all vividly drawn. “After Verne,” Clarke writes, “it was not enough to simply to visit the remote and exotic, a writer had to return with adventures.” A Quintessential Englishman
It decreed that any journey worthy of description had to involve some challenge, some stunt or goal.”Ĭlarke then cites such travel classics as Paul Theroux’s “The Old Patagonian Express,” Graham Greene’s “Journey Without Maps,” and Jonathan Raban’s “Old Glory: An American Voyage” as derivatives of Verne’s novel. In the Afterword to my edition of “Around the World in Eighty Days” (Penguin Group, 1991, revised and updated translation by Jacqueline Rogers), critic Thurston Clarke mentions some of the novel’s faults, but then adds that it “is one of the most influential works of travel literature ever written, setting standards and establishing patterns and themes that are still followed. Left behind in an opium den, Passepartout eventually rejoins his master, and the four of them, including Fix at times, face other ordeals, including an attack by Sioux warriors on the American plains and a wild and desperate voyage across the Atlantic. Fogg in the belief that he is a bank robber. In Hong Kong, Passepartout falls victim to the schemes of Mr. In India, assisted by a British officer and their Parsee guide, Fogg and Passepartout rescue a young widow, Aouda, from suttee, or being burned alive on a pyre with her dead, elderly husband. (Public Domain) The Grandfather of Travel Booksĭanger, risk, and the possibility of death are a continual part of this race against the clock. 30, 1873, published by Pierre-Jules Hetzel & Cie, Paris. The French first edition of Jules Verne’s “Around the World in Eighty Days,” Published on Jan.
Fogg’s bet on a global trip that will sweep them and their readers through a torrent of trials and adventures. Fogg’s employ, yet off they go, dispatched by Mr. Passepartout hopes to find “a tranquil life” in Mr. Fogg sets out with a servant hired that very morning, Jean Passepartout, a Parisian who boasts such talents as a former gymnast, circus rider, and tightrope walker, as well as serving as a gentleman’s gentleman. The year is 1872, and Phileas Fogg, an English gentleman, has just made a wager with some members of the Reform Club that he can circumscribe the globe in 80 days. We can sit on the sofa in the living room with a mug of steaming tea and plenty of opportunities to take a break from such escapades-make a phone call, fix a sandwich, take a stroll around the neighborhood-if we wish to do so.Īll we have to do is settle ourselves and break open Jules Verne’s classic novel “Around the World in Eighty Days.” Along the way we’ll rescue a damsel in distress and face bandits, storms, and other dangers, all the while pursued by an intrepid detective for a crime we didn’t commit and surviving by means of our wits and grit to win a wager.Īnd here’s the good news: We can achieve all these ambitions without leaving the comfort of home. We’ll spend a few days in rural India, pay a quick visit to Singapore, cross the plains and mountains of the American West by rail and on sleds driven by sails, and beat our way across the Atlantic on a steam-driven ship. Let’s put aside today’s headlines and instead travel the world.
Do not, I repeat, do not check the "Folder Name" for any hints about the video source.Time to break free of the winter doldrums. Always, check for the video source in the torrent description area. **DISCLAIMER:** The folder name in torrent files will always include a tag even if it is a WEBRip. I just changed the AAC Audio from to Opus and mixed the encodes of these two to create a low size x265 Dual Audio version for anyone who might be looking for it. **Note:** All the credit goes to the original encoders i.e.